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PALLAS ATHKNA 



A SMALLER 

HISTORY OF GREECE 

FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE 
ROMAN CONQUEST 



BY 



WILLIAM SMITH, LL.D. 



REVISED, ENLARGED, AND IN PART REWRITTEN 

BY 

CARLETOX L. BROWNSOX 

INSTRUCTOR IN GREEK IN YALE UNIVERSITY 
ILLUSTRATED 







5 1897 ytfto 



-C/ 



^ | 






NEW YORK 
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS 

1897 






Copyright, 1897, by Harper & Brothers. 



/4/J ri^to reserved. 



Preface to the Revised Edition 



The investigations of modern scholars in the de- 
partments of Greek history, literature, and antiqui- 
ties have done much to correct erroneous beliefs, to 
widen the realm of positive knowledge in these sub- 
jects, and to mark more precisely the limits of that 
positive knowledge. In preparing a new edition of 
Dr. Smith's Smaller History of Greece the reviser 
has endeavored to be guided by the important results 
of these investigations. He has sought especially to 
correct the inaccuracies of the old edition and to 
supply noteworthy omissions. No attempt has been 
made to change the plan of the original work, and it 
is hoped that the characteristic features which have 
made Dr. Smith's History popular are preserved in 
the revised edition. 

A few chapters have been largely rewritten, notably 
the fifth, tenth, nineteenth, and twenty- second ; on 
the other hand, in many portions of the narrative few 
important additions or changes have been found nec- 
essary. The reviser has depended largely upon the 
recent histories of Busolt and Holm, but has aimed 
to verify all direct statements by reference to the 
original Greek sources. In dealing with the consti- 
tutional history of various Greek states and with the 
history of Greek literature he has constantly consulted 



iv PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION 

Aristotle's Constitution of the Athenians, Busolt's 
Staatsaltertiimer, and Christ's Geschichte der griechi- 
schen Litteratur. 

An entirely new series of maps and plans has been 
engraved for the present edition. Many of these are 
based upon maps in Kiepert's Atlas Antiquus, others 
upon originals in Baumeister's Denkmiiler des Jdassi- 
schen Altertums, the Mittheilungen des deutschen ar- 
ehdologischen Institute zuAthen, Bursian's Geographie 
von Griechenlandy and other standard authorities. 
Most of the illustrations which appeared in the old 
edition have been discarded as unprofitable or anti- 
quated. Their place has been supplied by a some- 
what smaller number of new illustrations. An es- 
pecial and, it is hoped, valuable feature of the revised 
edition is the Pronouncing Vocabulary which has 
been incorporated with the Index, the latter having 
been very greatly increased in volume. 

The reviser gratefully acknowledges his indebted- 
ness to Professor Perrin, who has read the proof- 
sheets and has offered many helpful suggestions. 

New Haven, November, 1896. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. GEOGRAPHY OF GREECE 1 

II. ORIGIN OF THE GREEKS AND THE HEROIC AGE . . 6 

III. GENERAL SURVEY OF THE GREEK PEOPLE — NA- 

TIONAL INSTITUTIONS \Q 

IV. EARLY HISTORY OF PELOPONNESUS AND SPARTA . 23 
V. EARLY HISTORY OF ATHENS, DOWN TO THE ES- 
TABLISHMENT OF DEMOCRACY BY CLISTHENES, 
508 B.C 42 

VI. THE GREEK COLONIES 64 

VII. THE PERSIAN WARS. — FROM THE IONIAN REVOLT 

TO THE BATTLE OF MARATHON, 499-490 B.C. . 73 
VHI. THE PERSIAN WARS. — THE BATTLES OF THERMOP- 
YLAE, SALAMIS, AND PLATJEA, 480-479 B.C. . . 91 
IX. FROM THE END OF THE PERSIAN WARS TO THE 
BEGINNING OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR, 479- 
431 B.C 114 

x. the city of athens 143 

xi. the peloponnesian war. — first period, from 
the beginning of the war to the peace 

of nicias, 431-421 b.c 164 

xii. the peloponnesian war. — second period, from 
tne peace of nicias to the defeat of the 

ATHENIANS IN SICILY, 421-413 B.C 185 

XIII. THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. — THIRD PERIOD, FROM 
THE SICILIAN EXPEDITION TO THE END OF 
THE WAR, 413-404 B.C 204 



vi CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XIV. THE THIRTY TYRANTS AND THE DEATH OF SOCRA- 
TES, 404-399 B.c 223 

XV. TnE EXPEDITION OF THE GREEKS UNDER CYRUS 
AND THE RETREAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND, 

401-400 b.c. . t 233 

XVI. TnE SUPREMACY OF SPARTA, 404-371 B.C. . . . 241 
XVII. THE SUPREMACY OF THEBES, 371-362 B.C. . . . 264 
XVIII. HISTORY OF THE SICILIAN GREEKS FROM THE AC- 
CESSION OF DIONYSIUS TO THE DEATH OF TI- 

MOLEON . 277 

XIX. PHILIP OF MACEDON, 359-336 B.C 283 

XX. ALEXANDER THE GREAT, 336-323 B.C 299 

XXI. FROM THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT TO 
THE CONQUEST OF GREECE BY THE ROMANS, 

323-146 b.c 328 

xxii. sketch of the history of greek literature 
from the earliest times to the reign of 
alexander the great 361 

INDEX AND PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 397 



ILLUSTKATIONS 



PAGE 

PALLAS ATHENA Frontispiece 

COIN OF RHODES 5 

COIN OF ELIS 22 

COIN OF CORINTH 41 

MAP OF THE CHIEF GREEK COLONIES IN ASIA MINOR . 65 
MAP OF THE CHIEF GREEK COLONIES IN SICILY ... 67 
MAP OF THE CHIEF GREEK COLONIES IN SOUTHERN 

ITALY 68 

COIN OF AGRIGENTUM 72 

PLAN OF THE BATTLE-FIELD OF MARATHON 86 

PLAN OF THERMOPYLAE 95 

GREEK SOLDIER 99 

PARNASSUS 103 

PLAN OF THE BATTLE OF SAL AMIS 105 

THE VARVAKEION STATUETTE : A COPY OF THE ATHENA 

OF PHIDIAS 135 

COIN OF ATHENS 141 

THE PARTHENON IN 1892 142 

PLAN OF ATHENS 144 

THE OLYMPIEUM AND THE ACROPOLIS 146 

PLAN OF THE ACROPOLIS e 149 

TEMPLE OF ATHENA NIKE . . e . . 151 

THE PARTHENON RESTORED ......,..■ 153 

DEMETER AND PERSEPHONE (?) 154 

A METOPE FROM THE PARTHENON 155 

FRAGMENT FROM THE PARTHENON FRIEZE 156 



viii ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

TEE ERECHTHEUM RESTORED 157 

THE ERECHTHEUM FROM THE SOUTH 159 

THE DIONYSIAC THEATRE 161 

PERICLES 167 

ASPASIA 169 

MAP OF THE BAY OF PYLUS 176 

COIN OF AMPIIIPOLIS 184 

MAP OF SYRACUSE 194 

COINS OF SYRACUSE 203 

ALCIBIADES 225 

SOCRATES 229 

COIN OF ATHENS 232 

RUINS OF THE TEMPLE OF CYBELE AT SARDIS .... 234 

ROUTE OF THE TEN THOUSAND 236 

COIN OF ORCHOMENUS 263 

COIN OF THEBES 276 

COIN OF SYRACUSE 282 

THE BEMA OF THE PNYX AT ATHENS 289 

DIOGENES IN HIS TUB 301 

THE BATTLE OF ISSUS . 309 

COIN OF MACEDONIA 360 

IDEAL HEAD OF HOMER 362 

^ESCHYLUS 376 

EURIPIDES 379 

.ESCHINES 388 

ARISTOTLE 394 



MAP OF GREECE Preceding page 1 



A SMALLER 

HISTORY OF GREECE 



CHAPTER I 
GEOGRAPHY OF GREECE 



Situation and Extent of the Country. — Greece is the 
southern portion of a great peninsula of Europe, 
washed on three sides by the Mediterranean Sea. 
It is bounded on the north by Macedonia and Il- 
ly ri a, being separated from them for the most part 
by mountain ranges. It extends from the 40th de- 
gree of latitude to the 36th, its greatest length being 
not more than 250 English miles, and its greatest 
breadth only 180. Its surface is considerably less 
than that of Portugal. This small area was di- 
vided among a number of independent states, many 
of them containing a territory of only a few square 
miles, and none of them larger than an English 
county. But the heroism and genius of the Greeks 
have given an interest to the insignificant spot of 
earth bearing their name which the vastest empires 
have never gained. 

Hellas and the Hellenes — The name of Greece was 
not used by the inhabitants of the country. They 
called their land Hellas, and themselves Hellenes. 
l 



HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. I 

At first the word Hellas signified only a small dis- 
trict in Thessaly, from which the Hellenes gradually 
spread over the whole country. The names of Greece 
and Greeks come to us from the Romans, who gave 
the name of Grcecia to the country and of Greed to 
the inhabitants. 

Northern Greece — The two northerly provinces of 
Greece are Thessaly and JEjnrus, separated from each 
other by Mount Pindus. Thessaly is a fertile plain 
enclosed by lofty mountains, and drained by the 
river Peneus, which finds its way into the sea through 
the celebrated Vale of Tempe. Epirus is covered by 
rugged ranges of mountains running from north to 
south, through which the Acheloiis, the largest river 
of Greece, flows towards the Corinthian Gulf. 

Central Greece. — In entering central Greece from 
Thessaly the road runs along the coast through the 
narrow pass of Thermopylae, between the sea and a 
lofty range of mountains. The district along the 
coast was inhabited by the eastern Locrians, while 
to the west and south were Doris and Phocis, the 
greater part of the latter being occupied by Mount 
Parnassus, upon the slopes of which lay the town of 
Delphi, with its celebrated oracle of Apollo. South- 
east of Phocis is Doeotia, which is a large hollow 
basin, enclosed on every side by mountains, which 
prevent the waters from flowing into the sea. Hence 
the atmosphere was damp and thick, to which cir- 
cumstance the* witty Athenians attributed the dul- 
ness of the inhabitants. Thebes was the chief city 
of Bceotia. South of Boeotia lies Attica, which is 
in the form of a triangle, having two of its sides 
washed by the sea, and its base united to the land. 
Its soil is light and dry, and is better adapted for 



Chap. I PELOPONNESUS 3 

the growth of fruit than of grain. It was particu- 
larly celebrated for its olives, which were regarded 
as the gift of Athena, and were always under the 
care of that goddess. Athens was on the western 
coast, between four and five miles from its port, 
Piraeus. West of Attica, towards the isthmus of 
Corinth, is the small district of Megaris. 

The western half of central Greece consists of 
western Locris, JEtolia, and Acarnania. These dis- 
tricts were less civilized than the other countries of 
Greece, and were the haunts of rude robber tribes 
even as late as the Peloponnesian war. 

Peloponnesus. — Central Greece is connected with 
the southern peninsula by a narrow isthmus, near 
which stood the city of Corinth. So narrow is this 
isthmus that the ancients regarded the peninsula as 
an island, and gave to it the name of Peloponnesus, 
or the island of Pelops, from the mythical hero of 
this name. Its modern name, the Morea, was be- 
stowed upon it from its resemblance to the leaf of 
the mulberry. 

The mountains of Peloponnesus have their roots in 
the centre of the country, from which they branch 
out towards the sea. This central region, called Ar- 
cadia, is the Switzerland of the peninsula. It is sur- 
rounded by a ring of mountains, forming a kind of 
natural wall, which separates it from the remaining 
Peloponnesian states. The other chief divisions of 
Peloponnesus were Achaia, Argolis, Laconia, Messe- 
nia, and Elis. Achaia is a narrow strip of country ly- 
ing between the northern barrier of Arcadia and the 
Corinthian Gulf. Argolis, on the east, contained sev- 
eral independent states, of which the most important 
w T as Argos. Laconia and Messenia occupied the 



4 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. I 

whole of the south of the peninsula from sea to sea ; 
these two countries were separated by the lofty range 
of Taygetus, running from north to south, and termi- 
nating in the promontory of Trenarum (now Cape 
Matapan), the southernmost point of Greece. Spar- 
ta, the chief town of Laconia, stood in the valley of 
the Eu rotas, which opens out into a plain of consid- 
erable extent towards the Laconian Gulf. Messenia, 
in like manner, was drained by the Pamisus, whose 
plain is still more extensive and fertile than that of the 
Eurotas. JElis, on the west of Arcadia, contains the 
memorable plain on the banks of the Alpheus where 
the Olympic games were celebrated. 

The Adjacent Islands. — Of the numerous islands 
which line the Grecian shores, the most important 
was Eubcea, stretching along the coasts of Locris, 
Bceotia, and Attica. South of Eubcea was the group 
of islands called the Cyclades, lying around Delos as 
a centre ; and east of these were the Sporades, near 
the Asiatic coast. South of these groups are the 
large islands of Crete and Rhodes. Lemnos, Jmbros, 
Samothrace, and Thasos lie farther north in the 
Thracian Sea, while to the west of Greece are Zaeyn- 
thos, CephaUenia, Ithaca, Leucas, and Corey ra. 

Influence of the Country upon the People The phys- 
ical features of the country exercised a most impor- 
tant influence upon the political destinies of the 
people. Greece is one of the most mountainous 
countries of Europe. Its surface is occupied by a 
number of small plains, either entirely surrounded 
by limestone mountains or open only to the sea. 
Each of the principal Grecian cities was founded in 
one of these small plains ; and, as the mountains 
which separated it from its neighbors were lofty and 



Chap. I NATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS 5 

rugged, each city grew up in solitary independence. 
But at the same time it had ready and easy access to 
the sea, and Arcadia was almost the only political 
division that did not possess some territory upon the 
coast. Thus shut out from their neighbors by moun- 
tains, the Greeks were naturally attracted to the sea, 
and became a maritime people. Hence they pos- 
sessed the love of freedom and the spirit of advent- 
ure which have always characterized, more or less, 
the inhabitants of maritime districts. 




APOLLO 

Coin of Rhodes 



CHAPTER II 

ORIGIN OF THE GREEKS AND THE HEROIC AGE 

Early Legends No nation possesses a history till 

events are recorded in written documents ; and, so 
far as we know, it was not till the 8th century b. c. 
that the Greeks began to employ writing as a means 
for perpetuating the memory of any historical facts. 
Before that period everything is vague and un- 
certain ; and the exploits of the heroes related by 
the poets must not be regarded as historical facts. 
On the other hand, really authentic history does not 
begin till long after that period ; for in the earliest 
written records legend is still interwoven with fact. 

Origin of the Greeks The Pelasgians are univer- 
sally represented as the most ancient inhabitants of 
Greece. The Hellenes were a tribe of invaders who 
originally dwelt in the south of Thessaly, and grad- 
ually spread over the rest of Greece. The Pelasgians 
disappeared before them, or were incorporated with 
them, and their dialect became the language of 
Greece. The Hellenes considered themselves the 
descendants of one common ancestor, Hellen, the 
son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. To Hellen were as- 
cribed three sons, Dorus, Xuthus, and iEolus. Of 
these Dorus and JEolus gave their names to the Do- 
rians and JEolians\ and Xuthus, through his two 
sous, Ion and Achrcus, became the forefather of the 



Chap. II ORIENTAL INFLUENCE 7 

Ionians and Achceans. Thus the Greeks accounted 
for the origin of the four great divisions of their race. 
The descent of the Hellenes from a common ances- 
tor, Hellen, was a fundamental article in the popular 
faith. It was a general practice in antiquity to invent 
fictitious persons for the purpose of explaining names 
of which the origin was buried in obscurity. It was 
in this way that Hellen and his sons came into being ; 
but though they never had any real existence, the 
tales about them may be regarded as the traditional 
history of the races to whom they gave their names. 
Oriental Influence. — The civilization of the Greeks 
and the development of their language bear all the 
marks of home growth, and probably were not great- 
ly affected by foreign influence. The traditions, 
however, of the Greeks would point to a contrary 
conclusion. It was a general belief among them that 
the Pelasgians were reclaimed from barbarism by 
Oriental strangers, who settled in the country and 
introduced among the rude inhabitants the first ele- 
ments of civilization. Attica is said to have been 
indebted for the arts of civilized life to Cecrops, 
who, according to late tradition, was a native of Sais 
in Egypt. To him is ascribed the foundation of the 
city of Athens, the institution of marriage, and the 
introduction of religious rites and ceremonies. Ar- 
gos, in like manner, has its foreign hero in the Egyp- 
tian Danaiis, who fled to Greece with his fifty daugh- 
ters, to escape from the persecution of their suitors, 
the fifty sons of his brother ^Egyptus. The Egyp- 
tian stranger was elected king by the natives, and 
from him the tribe of the Danai derived their name, 
which Homer frequently uses as a general appellation 
for the Greeks. Another colony was the one led from 



8 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. II 

Asia by Pelops, from whom the southern peninsula of 
Greece derived its name of Peloponnesus. Pelops is 
represented as a Phrygian, and the son of the wealthy 
king Tantalus. He became the founder of a powerful 
dynasty, one of the most renowned in the Heroic age 
of Greece. From him was descended Agamemnon, 
who led the Grecian host against Troy. 

The tale of the Phoenician colony, conducted by 
Cadmus, which founded Thebes in Boeotia, rests upon 
a different basis. Whether there was such a person 
as the Phoenician Cadmus, and whether he built the 
town called Cadmea, which afterwards became the 
citadel of Thebes, as the ancient legends relate, can- 
not be determined; but it is certain that the Greeks 
were indebted to the Phoenicians for the art of writ- 
ing ; for both the names and the forms of the letters 
in the Greek alphabet are evidently derived from the 
Phoenician. With this exception the Oriental stran- 
gers left no important traces of their settlements in 
Greece ; and the population of the country continued 
to be essentially Grecian, uncontaminated by any 
foreign element. 

The Heroes: Heracles, Theseus, and Minos. — The period 
which preceded the dawn of history in Greece is 
called the age of heroes. These heroes were believed 
to be a noble race of beings, possessing a superhu- 
man though not a divine nature, and superior to 
ordinary men in strength of body and greatness of 
soul. 

Among the heroes three stand conspicuously forth: 
Heracles, the national hero of Greece ; Theseus, the 
hero of Attica ; and Minos, king of Crete, the prin- 
cipal founder of Grecian law and civilization. 

Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmena ; but 



Chap. II HERACLES AND THESEUS 9 

the jealous anger of Hera raised up against him an 
opponent and a master in the person of Eurystheus, 
at whose bidding the greatest of all heroes was to 
achieve those wonderful labors which filled the whole 
world with his fame. In these are realized, on a 
magnificent scale, the two great objects of ancient 
heroism, the destruction of physical and moral evil, 
and the acquisition of wealth and power. Such, for 
instance, are the labors in which he destroys the ter- 
rible Nemean lion and Lernean hydra, carries off the 
girdle of Ares from Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons, 
and seizes the golden apples of the Hesperides, guard- 
ed by a hundred-headed dragon. 

Theseus was a son of iEgeus, king of Athens, and 
of iEthra, daughter of Pittheus, king of Trcezen. 
Among his many memorable achievements the most 
famous was his deliverance of Athens from the fright- 
fill tribute imposed upon it by Minos for the murder 
of his son. This consisted of seven youths and seven 
maidens, whom the Athenians were compelled to send 
every nine years to Crete, there to be devoured by the 
Minotaur, a monster with a human body and a bull's 
head, which Minos kept concealed in an inextricable 
labyrinth. The third ship was already on the point of 
sailing with its cargo of innocent victims, when The- 
seus offered to go with them, hoping to put an end 
forever to the horrible tribute. Ariadne, the daugh- 
ter of Minos, became enamoured of the hero, and 
being supplied by her with a clew to trace the wind- 
ings of the labyrinth, Theseus succeeded in killing the 
monster, and in tracking his way out of the mazy lair. 
Theseus, on his return, became king of Attica, and 
proceeded to lay the foundation of the future great- 
ness of the country. He united into one political 



10 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. II 

body the twelve independent states into which Co- 
crops had divided Attica, and made Athens the capi- 
tal of the new kingdom. He then divided the citi- 
zens into three classes — namely, Eupatridce, or nobles ; 
Geomori, or husbandmen ; and Demiurgi, or artisans. 

Minos, king of Crete, whose history is connected 
with that of Theseus, appears, like him, the represent- 
ative of an historical and civil state of life. Minos 
is said to have received the laws of Crete immediately 
from Zeus ; and traditions uniformly represent him as 
king of the sea. Possessing a numerous fleet, he re- 
duced the surrounding islands, especially the Cyclades, 
under his dominion, and cleared the sea of pirates. 

The Argonautic Expedition and the Trojan War. — The 
voyage of the Argonauts and the Trojan war were 
the most memorable enterprises undertaken by col- 
lective bodies of heroes. 

The Argonauts derived their name from the Argo, 
a ship built for the adventurers by Jason, under the 
superintendence of Athena. They embarked at the 
harbor of Iolcus in Thessaly for the purpose of ob- 
taining the golden fleece which was preserved in JE& 
in Colchis, on the eastern shores of the Black Sea, un- 
der the guardianship of a sleepless dragon. The most 
renowned heroes of the age took part in the expedi- 
tion. Among them were Heracles and Theseus ; but 
Jason is the central figure and the real hero of the en- 
terprise. Upon their arrival at iEa, after many ad- 
ventures, King ^Eetes promised to deliver to Jason 
the golden fleece, provided he yoked two fire-breath- 
ing brazen-footed oxen, and performed other wonder- 
ful deeds. Here, also, as in the legend of Theseus, 
love played a prominent part. Medea, the daughter 
of yEetes, who was skilled in magic and supernatural 



Chap. II THE TROJAN WAR 11 

arts, furnished Jason with the means of accomplish- 
ing the labors imposed upon him; and as her father 
still delayed to surrender the . fleece, she cast the 
dragon asleep during the night, seized the fleece, and 
sailed away in the Argo with her beloved Jason. 

The Trojan war was the greatest of all the heroic 
undertakings. It formed the subject of numerous 
epic poems, and has been immortalized by the genius 
of Homer. Paris, son of Priam, king of Troy, abused 
the hospitality of Menelaus, king of Sparta, by carry- 
ing off his wife Helen, the most beautiful woman of 
the age. All the Grecian princes looked upon the 
outrage as one committed against themselves. Re- 
sponding to the call of Menelaus, they assembled in 
arms, elected his brother Agamemnon, king of My- 
cenae, leader of the expedition, and sailed across the 
JEgean in nearly twelve hundred ships to recover the 
faithless fair one. Several of the confederate heroes 
excelled Agamemnon in fame. Among them Achilles, 
chief of the Thessalian Myrmidons, stood pre-emi- 
nent in strength, beauty, and valor ; while Odysseus, 
king of Ithaca, surpassed all the rest in the mental 
qualities of counsel and eloquence. Among the Tro- 
jans, Hector, one of the sons of Priam, was most dis- 
tinguished for heroic qualities, and formed a striking 
contrast to his handsome but effeminate brother Paris. 
Next to Hector in valor stood iEneas, son of Anchises 
and Aphrodite. Even the gods took part in the con- 
test, encouraging their favorite heroes, and sometimes 
fighting bv their side or in their stead. 

It was not till the tenth year of the war that Troy 
yielded to the inevitable decree of fate ; and it is the 
events of a part of this year which form the subject 
of the Iliad. Achilles, offended by Agamemnon, ab- 



12 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. II 

stains from the war ; and in his absence the Greeks 
are no match for Hector. The Trojans drive them 
back into their camp, and are already setting fire 
to their ships, when Achilles gives his armor to his 
friend Patroclns, and allows him to charge at the 
head of the Myrmidons. Patroclns repulses the 
Trojans from the ships, but the god Apollo is against 
him, and he falls under the spear of Hector. Desire 
to avenge the death of his friend proves more power- 
ful in the breast of Achilles than anger against 
Agamemnon. He appears again in the field in new 
and gorgeous armor, forged for him by the god He- 
phaestus at the prayer of Thetis. The Trojans fly 
before him, and, although Achilles is aware that his 
own death must speedily follow that of the Trojan 
hero, he slays Hector in single combat. 

The Iliad closes with the burial of Hector. The 
death of Achilles and the capture of Troy were 
related in later poems. The hero of so many achieve- 
ments perishes by an arrow shot by the un warlike 
Paris, but directed by the hand of Apollo. The 
noblest combatants had now fallen on either side, and 
force of arms had proved unable to accomplish what 
stratagem at length effects. It is Odysseus who now 
steps into the foreground and becomes the real con- 
queror of Troy. By his advice a wooden horse is 
built, within which he and other heroes conceal them- 
selves. The infatuated Trojans are treacherously 
persuaded to admit the horse within their walls. In 
the dead of night the Greeks rush out and open the 
gates to their comrades. Troy is delivered over to 
the sword, and its glory sinks in ashes. The fall of 
Troy is conjecturally placed in the year 1184 b.c. 

The return of the Grecian loaders from Trov forms 



Chap. II SOCIETY IX THE HEROIC AGE 13 

another series of poetical legends. Several meet with 
tragical ends. Agamemnon is murdered, on his ar- 
rival at Mycenae, by his wife ClyUemestra and her 
paramour JEgisthus. But of these wanderings the 
most celebrated and interesting are those of Odys- 
seus, which form the subject of the Odyssey. After 
twenty years' absence he arrives at length in Ithaca, 
where he slays the numerous suitors who devoured 
his substance and contended for the hand of his wife 
Penelope. 

The Homeric poems must not be regarded as a rec- 
ord of historical persons and events, but, at the same 
time, they present a valuable picture of the institu- 
tions and manners of the earliest known state of 
Grecian society. 

Society and Civilization in the Heroic Age. — In the 
Homeric age Greece was already divided into a 
number of independent states, each governed by its 
own king. The authority of the king rested upon 
hereditary and divine right. He was leader in war, 
supreme judge, and chief priest. His power was 
limited, however, in three ways. First, he was bound 
to follow immemorial usage, the unwritten law of the 
land. Secondly, he must consult an advisory council 
(Boule) of nobles and elders. Thirdly, his measures 
must be approved by the general assembly of freemen 
(Agora). These two bodies became in the Republi- 
can age the sole depositories of political power. 

The Greeks in the Heroic a^e were divided into the 
three classes of nobles, common freemen, and slaves. 
The nobles were raised far above the rest of the com- 
munity in honor, power, and wealth. They were dis- 
tinguished by their warlike prowess, their large es- 
tates, and their numerous slaves. The condition of 



14 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. II 

the general mass of freemen is rarely mentioned. 
They possessed portions of land as their own proper- 
ty, which they cultivated themselves ; but there was 
another class of poor freemen, called Thetes, who had 
no land of their own, and who worked for hire on the 
estates of others. Slavery was not so prevalent in 
the Heroic age as at a later time, and appears in a 
less odious aspect. The nobles alone possessed slaves, 
and they treated them with a degree of kindness which 
frequently secured for the master their affectionate 
attachment. 

Society was marked by simplicity of manners. The 
kings and nobles did not consider it derogatory to 
their dignity to acquire skill in the manual arts. 
Odysseus is represented as building his own bedcham- 
ber and constructing his own raft, and he boasts of 
being an excellent mower and ploughman. Like Esau, 
who made savory meat for his father Isaac, the Hero- 
ic chiefs prepared their own meals and prided them- 
selves on their skill in cookery. Kings and private 
persons partook of the same food, which was of the 
simplest kind. Beef, mutton, and goat's flesh were the 
ordinary meats, and cheese, flour, and sometimes fruits 
also formed part of the banquet; wine was drunk di- 
luted with water, and the entertainments were never 
disgraced by intemperance, like those of our northern 
ancestors. The enjoyment of the banquet was height- 
ened by the song and the dance, and the chiefs took 
more delight in the lays of the minstrel than in the 
exciting influence of the wine. 

The wives and daughters of the chiefs, in like man- 
ner, did not deem it beneath them to discharge vari- 
ous duties which were afterwards regarded as menial. 
Not only do we find them constantly employed in 



Chap. II CIVILIZATION IX THE HEROIC AGE 15 

weaving, spinning, and embroidery, but like the daugh- 
ters of the patriarchs they fetch water from the well 
and assist their slaves in washing garments. 

Even at this early age the Greeks had made consid- 
erable advances in civilization. They were collected 
in fortified towns, which were surrounded by walls 
and adorned with palaces and temples. The massive 
ruins of Mycenae and the sculptured lions on the gate 
of this city belong to the Heroic age, and still excite 
the wonder of the beholder. Commerce, however, was 
little cultivated, and was not much esteemed. It was 
deemed more honorable for a man to enrich himself 
by robbery and piracy than by the arts of peace. 
Coined money is not mentioned in the poems of 
Homer. Whether the Greeks were acquainted at 
this early period with the art of writing is a ques- 
tion which has given rise to much dispute, and must 
remain undetermined ; but poetry was cultivated 
with success, though yet confined to epic strains, or 
the narration of the exploits and adventures of the 
Heroic chiefs. The bard sang his own song, and was 
always received with welcome and honor in the pal- 
aces of the nobles. 

In the battles, as depicted by Homer, the chiefs are 
the only important combatants, while the people are 
an almost useless mass, frequently put to rout by the 
prowess of a single hero. The chief is often mounted 
in a war chariot, and stands by the side of his chari- 
oteer, who is frequently a friend. There is no cav- 
alry. 



CHAPTER III 

GENERAL SURVEY OF THE GREEK PEOPLE — NATIONAL 

INSTITUTIONS 

Bonds of Union between the Greek States. — The Greeks, 
as we have already seen, were divided into many 
independent communities, but several causes bound 
them together as one people. Of these the most 
important were community of blood and language 
— community of religious rites and festivals — and 
community of manners and character. 

Community of Blood and Language. — All the Greeks 
were descended from the same ancestors and spoke 
the same language. They all described men and 
cities which were not Grecian by the term barbarian. 
This word has passed into our own language, but 
with a very different idea ; for the Greeks applied 
it indiscriminately to every foreigner, to the civil- 
ized inhabitants of Egypt and Persia as well as to 
the rude tribes of Scythia and Gaul. 

Community of Religious Rites and Festivals: The Amphic- 
tyonic Council. — The second bond of union was a com- 
munity of religious rites and festivals. From the 
earliest times the Greeks appear to have worshipped 
the same gods ; but originally there were no religious 
meetings common to the whole nation. Such meet- 
ings were of gradual growth, being formed by a 
number of neighboring towns, which entered into an 



Chap. Ill THE AMPHICTYOXIC COUNCIL 17 

association for the periodical celebration of certain 
religious rites at some common shrine. Of these the 
most celebrated was the Amphictyonic Council. It 
acquired its superiority over other similar associations 
by the wealth and grandeur of the Delphian temple, 
of which it was the appointed guardian. The temple 
of Demeter at Thermopylae was also under its pro- 
tection. It held its meetings twice a year, in the 
spring and in the autumn ; and each time there 
seem to have been two sessions, one at Thermopylae 
and the other at Delphi. Its members, who were 
called the Amphictyons, consisted of sacred deputies 
sent from twelve tribes, many of which had sev- 
eral independent cities or states. But the Council 
was never considered as a national congress, whose 
duty it was to protect and defend the common in- 
terests of Greece ; and it was only when the rights 
of the Delphian god had been violated that it in- 
voked the aid of the various states of the league. 
The Council also sought to foster peace, or at least 
fair methods of warfare, among its own members. 
The ancient Amphictyonic oath bound the associated 
tribes not to cut off running water from any city be- 
longing to the league, nor to destroy any city ut- 
terly. 

The Olympic Games. — The Olympic games were of 
greater efficacy than the Amphictyonic Council in 
promoting a spirit of union among the various 
branches of the Greek race, and in keeping alive a 
feeling of their common origin. They were open to 
all freemen who could prove their Hellenic blood, 
and were frequented by spectators from all parts of 
the Grecian world. They were celebrated at Olym- 
pia, on the banks of the Alpheus, in the territory 



18 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. Ill 

of Elis. The origin of the festival was lost in ob- 
Bcurity ; but it was said to have been revived by 
Iphitus, king of Elis, and Lycurgus, the Spartan leg- 
islator, in the year 776 b.c. ; and accordingly, when 
the Greeks at a later time began to use the Olympic 
contest as a chronological era, this year was regarded 
as the first Olympiad. It was celebrated at the end 
of every four years, and the interval which elapsed 
between each celebration was called an Olympiad. 
The whole festival w r as under the management of the 
Eleans, who appointed some of their own number to 
preside as judges, under the name of the Hellanodieae. 
During the month in which it was celebrated all hos- 
tilities were suspended throughout Greece. At first 
the festival was confined to a single day, and con- 
sisted of nothing more than a match of runners in the 
stadium : but in course of time so manv other con- 
tests were introduced that the games occupied five 
days. They comprised various trials of strength and 
skill, such as wrestling, boxing, the Pancratium (box- 
ing and wrestling combined), and the complicated 
Pentathlum (including jumping, running, the quoit, 
the javelin, and wrestling), but no combats with any- 
kind of weapons. One day was set apart for con- 
tests of boys. There were also horse-races and char- 
iot-races ; and the chariot-race, with four full-grown 
horses, became one of the most popular and cele- 
brated of all the matches. 

The only prize given to the conqueror was a gar- 
land of olive ; but this was valued as one of the dear- 
est distinctions in life. To have his name proclaimed 
as victor before assembled Hellas was an object of 
ambition with the noblest and the wealthiest of the 
Greeks. Such a person was considered to have con- 



Chap III THE NATIONAL GAMES 19 

ferred everlasting glory upon his family and his 
country, and was rewarded by his fellow-citizens with 
distinguished honors. 

The Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian Games.— During the 
6th century before the Christian era three other 
national festivals— the Pythian, Nemean, and Isth- 
mian games — which were at first only local, became 
open to the whole nation. The Pythian games 
were celebrated in every third Olympic year, on the 
Cirrhaean plain near Delphi, under the superintend- 
ence of the Amphictyons. The games consisted not 
only of matches in gymnastics and of horse and 
chariot races, but also of contests in music and 
poetry. They soon acquired celebrity, and became 
second only to the great Olympic festival. The Ne- 
mean and Isthmian games occurred more frequently 
than the Olympic and Pythian. They were celebrat- 
ed once in two years — the Nemean in the valley of 
Nemea between Phlius and Cleonae, and the Isthmi- 
an by the Corinthians, on their isthmus, in honor of 
Poseidon. As in the Pythian festival, contests in mu- 
sic and in poetry, as well as gymnastics and chariot- 
races, formed part of these games. Although the 
four great festivals of which we have been speaking 
had no influence in promoting the political union of 
Greece, they nevertheless were of great importance 
in making the various sections of the race feel that 
they were all members of one family, and in cement- 
ing them together by common sympathies and the 
enjoyment of common pleasures. The frequent oc- 
currence of these festivals, for some one of them 
was celebrated every year, tended to the same 
result. 

The Greeks were thus annually reminded of their 



20 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. Ill 

common origin, and of the great distinction which 
existed between them and barbarians. Nor must 
we forget the incidental advantages which attended 
them. The concourse of so large a number of per- 
sons from every part of the Grecian world afforded 
to the merchant opportunities for traffic, and to the 
artist and the literary man the best means of making 
their work known. During the time of the games 
a busy commerce was carried on ; and the poets, 
philosophers, and historians found audiences to 
whom they were glad to read their most recent 
works. 

The Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. — The habit of con- 
sulting the same oracles in order to ascertain the will 
of the gods was another bond of union. It was the 
universal practice of the Greeks to undertake no 
matter of importance without first asking the advice 
of the gods ; and there were many sacred spots in 
which the gods were always ready to give an answer 
to pious worshippers. The oracle of Apollo at Del- 
phi surpassed all the rest in importance, and was re- 
garded with veneration in every part of the Grecian 
world. In the centre of the temple of Delphi there 
was a small opening in the ground from which it 
was said that a certain gas or vapor ascended. 
Whenever the oracle was to be consulted, a virgin 
priestess called the Pythia took her seat upon a 
tripod which was placed over the chasm. The as- 
cending vapor affected her brain, and the words which 
she uttered in this excited condition were believed to 
be the answer of Apollo to his worshippers. They 
were reverently taken down and moulded into hex- 
ameter verses by the attendant priests. Many of the 
answers were equivocal or obscure ; but the credit of 



Chap. Ill THE CITY-STATE 21 

the oracle continued unimpaired long after the down- 
fall of Grecian independence. 

Community of Manners and Character. — A further ele- 
ment of union among the Greeks was the similar- 
ity of manners and character. It is true the dif- 
ference in this respect between the polished inhab- 
itants of Athens and the rude mountaineers of 
Acarnania was marked and striking, but if we 
compare the two with foreign contemporaries, the 
contrast between them and the latter is still more 
striking. Absolute despotism, human sacrifices, polyg- 
amy, deliberate mutilation of the person as a pun- 
ishment, and selling of children into slavery, existed 
in some part or other of the barbarian world, but 
are not found in any city of Greece in historical 
times. 

The City -State. — The elements of union of which 
we have been speaking only bound the Greeks to- 
gether in common feelings and sentiments : they 
never produced any political union. The indepen- 
dent sovereignty of each city was a fundamental 
notion in the Greek mind. This strongly rooted 
feeling deserves particular notice. Careless readers 
of history are tempted to suppose that the territory 
of Greece was divided among a comparatively small 
number of independent states, such as Attica, Ar- 
cadia, Boeotia, Phocis, Locris, and the like ; but 
this is a most serious mistake, and leads to a total 
misapprehension of Greek history. Every separate 
city was usually an independent state, and conse- 
quently each of the territories described under the 
general names of Arcadia, Bceotia, Phocis, and Lo- 
cris, contained numerous political communities orig- 
inally independent of one another. Attica, it is true, 



22 



HISTORY OF GREECE 



Chap. Ill 



formed a single state, and its different towns recog- 
nized Athens as their capital and the source of su- 
preme power ; but this is an exception to the general 
rule. Thebes was ever vainly seeking a similar su- 
premacy in Bceotia. 





NYMPH OLYMPIA 



EAGLE IN WREATH 



Coiu of Elis 



CHAPTER IV 

EARLY HISTORY OF PELOPONNESUS AND SPARTA 

The Legend of the Dorian Invasion — The history of 
Peloponnesus begins with the invasion by the Do- 
rians. These people had no share in the glories 
of the Heroic age ; their name does not occur in 
the Iliad, and they are only once mentioned in the 
Odyssey ; but they were destined to form in his- 
torical times one of the most important elements 
of the Greek nation. Issuing from their mountain 
district between Thessaly, Locris, and Phocis, they 
overran the greater part of Peloponnesus, destroy- 
ed the ancient Achaean monarchies, and expelled 
or reduced to subjection the original inhabitants of 
the land, of which they became the undisputed mas- 
ters. This brief statement contains all that we know 
for certain respecting this celebrated event, which 
the ancient writers placed eighty years after the Tro- 
jan war (1104 B.C.). The legendary account of the 
conquest of Peloponnesus ran as follows: The Dori- 
ans were led by the Heraclidae, or descendants of the 
mighty hero Heracles. Hence this migration is called 
the Return of the Heraclidae. The children of Hera- 
cles had long been fugitives upon the face of the 
earth. They had made more than one attempt to 
regain possession of the dominions in Peloponne- 
sus, which rightfully belonged to their great sire, 



24 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IV 

but hitherto without success. In their last attempt 
Hyllus, the son of Heracles, had perished in single 
combat with Echemus of Tegea; and the Heraclidse 
had become bound by a solemn compact to renounce 
their enterprise for a hundred years. This period had 
now expired; and the great-grandsons of Hyllus — 
Temenus, Cresphontes, and Aristodemus — resolved to 
make a fresh attempt to recover their birthright. 
They were assisted in the enterprise by the Dorians. 
This people espoused their cause in consequence of 
the aid which Heracles himself had rendered to the 
Dorian king ^Egimius, when the latter was hard 
pressed in a contest with the Lapithoe. The invaders 
were warned by an oracle not to enter Peloponnesus 
by the Isthmus of Corinth, but across the mouth of 
the Corinthian Gulf. The inhabitants of the northern 
coast of the gulf were favorable to their enterprise. 
Oxylus, king of the iEtolians, became their guiSe; 
and from Naupactus they crossed over to Peloponne- 
sus. A single battle decided the contest. Tisamenus, 
the son of Orestes and grandson of Agamemnon, was 
defeated, and retired with a portion of his Achaean 
subjects to the northern coast of Peloponnesus, then 
occupied by the Ionians. He expelled the Ionians, 
and took possession of the country, which continued 
henceforth to be inhabited by the Acbaeans, and to 
be called after them. The Ionians withdrew to At- 
tica, and a great part of them afterwards emigrated 
to Asia Minor. 

The Heraclidae and the Dorians now divided be- 
tween them the dominions of Tisamenus and of the 
other Achaean princes. The kingdom of Elis was 
given to Oxylus as a recompense for his services as 
their guide; and it was agreed that Temenus, Cres- 



Chap. IV THE RISE OF SPARTA 25 

phonies, and Eurystbenes and Procles, the infant sons 
of Aristodemus (who had died at Naupactus), should 
draw lots for Argos, Sparta, and Messenia. Argos 
fell to Teraenus, Sparta to Eurysthenes and Procles, 
and Messenia to Cresphontes. 

Such are the main features of the legend of the 
Return of the Heraclidae. Of course it cannot be 
regarded as furnishing a complete and trustworthy 
account of the Dorian conquest. Some Dorians may 
really have crossed to Peloponnesus from Naupactus; 
that way of approach was a natural and easy one. 
But there is reason to believe that Argos and Corinth 
were subdued by invaders who came by sea. At all 
events, it is probable that the subjugation of Pelo- 
ponnesus was accomplished not by one united expe- 
dition, but by several separate bodies of warriors. 

The Rise of Sparta: Lycurgus, the Lawgiver. — Argos 
was originally the chief Dorian state in Peloponne- 
sus, but its claim to that distinction was early chal- 
lenged by Sparta. The struggle between these tw r o 
states w r as long continued and attended w r ith vary- 
ing fortune ; but in the end Sparta won the suprem- 
acy, which she afterwards maintained so success- 
fully. The progress of Sparta from the second to 
the first place among the states in the peninsula w T as 
mainly owing to the military discipline and rigorous 
training of its citizens. The singular constitution of 
Sparta was unanimously ascribed by the ancients to 
the legislator Lycurgus, but there w r ere different sto- 
ries respecting his date, birth, travels, legislation, and 
death. According to one tradition he must have lived 
in the 8th century B.C. ; for in 776 B.C. he is said to 
have assisted Iphitus in restoring the Olympic games. 
Other authorities, however, place him in the 9th cen- 



26 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IV 

tury b.c, or even earlier. All accounts agree in de- 
scribing Lycurgus as uncle, and guardian during his 
minority, of one of the two Spartan kings. At this 
time, as Herodotus, the Greek historian, says, Sparta 
was almost the worst governed of all the Greek states, 
and probably Lycurgus's task was made easier by the 
discontent of the people with the existing order of 
things. He perhaps began his work as a lawgiver 
while acting as his nephew's guardian; or, according 
to other stories, it was after his return from a vol- 
untary exile, and when the young king had already 
come to manhood. It may or may not be true that, 
as the latter story has it, Lycurgus left Sparta in 
order to avoid certain slanderous accusations which 
were brought against him; at any rate, it seems prob- 
able that he had travelled widely and studied the 
constitutions of other states before introducing his 
reforms in Sparta. Crete is mentioned as the state 
whose laws he copied most closely; another tradition 
is that he received his constitution directly from the 
oracle of Apollo at Delphi. It is reasonable to sup- 
pose that his reforms were not carried into effect 
without some opposition; and, in fact, various stories 
are told which would confirm this supposition. But 
he finally triumphed over all obstacles, and succeeded 
in obtaining the submission of all classes in the com- 
munity to his new constitution. His last act, accord- 
ing to tradition, was to sacrifice himself for the 
welfare of his country. Having obtained from the 
people a solemn oath to make no alterations in his 
laws before his return, he quitted Sparta forever. 
He set out on a journey to Delphi, where he obtained 
an* oracle from the god, approving of all he had done, 
and promising prosperity to the Spartans so long as 



Chap. IV CLASSES IN THE SPARTAN STATE 27 

they preserved his laws. Whither he went after- 
wards, and how and where he died, nobody could 
tell. He vanished from earth like a god, leaving no 
traces behind him but his spirit; and his grateful 
countrymen honored him with a temple, and wor- 
shipped him with annual sacrifices down to the latest 
times. 

Classes in the Spartan State. — The population of La- 
conia was divided into the three classes of Spartans, 
Periceci, and Helots. 

I. The Spartans were the descendants of the Do- 
rian conquerors. They formed the sovereign power 
of the state, and they alone were eligible to honors 
and public offices. They lived in Sparta itself, and 
were all subject to the discipline of Lycurgus. They 
were divided into three tribes — the Hylleis, the Pam- 
phyli, and the Dymanes — which were not, however, 
peculiar to Sparta, but existed in all the Dorian 
states. 

II. The Periceci* were personally free, but politi- 
cally subject to the Spartans. They possessed no 
share in the government, and were bound to obey the 
commands of the Spartan magistrates. They were 
the descendants of the old Achaean population of the 
country, and were distributed into townships, which 
were spread through the whole of Laconia. 

III. The Helots were serfs bound to the soil, which 
they tilled for the benefit of the Spartan proprietors. 
Their condition was very different from that of the 
ordinary slaves in antiquity, and more similar to the 

* This word signifies literally Dwellers around the city, and was 
generally used to indicate the inhabitants in the country districts, 
who possessed inferior political privileges to the citizens who lived 
in the city. 



28 IIISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IV 

villanage of the Middle Ages. They dwelt upon the 
lands of the Spartan citizens, cultivating the soil and 
making over a fixed amount of its products to their 
masters, while the remainder they kept for themselves. 
They were thus able to acquire property, and they en- 
joyed their homes, wives, and families apart from their 
master's personal superintendence. They could not 
be sold, and they accompanied the Spartans to the 
field as light -armed troops, sometimes as hoplites. 
But while their condition was in these respects supe- 
rior to that of the ordinary slaves in other parts of 
Greece, it was embittered by the fact that they were 
not strangers like the latter, but were of the same na- 
tionality and spoke the same language as their mas- 
ters, being, like the Perioeci, the descendants of the 
old inhabitants. As they were much more numerous 
than the Spartans, and always ready for an uprising 
at any favorable opportunity, they were a source of 
perpetual danger to the state. On this account they 
had to be held in subjection by fear, and were often 
treated w T ith the harshest cruelty. / 

The Spartan Constitution: the Kings, the Senate, the Pop- 
ular Assembly, and the Ephors. — The functions of the 
Spartan government were distributed among two 
Kings, a Senate of thirty members, a Popular As- 
sembly, and an executive directory of five men called 
Ephors. 

At the head of the state were the tw T o hereditary 
Kings. The existence of a pair of kings was peculiar 
to Sparta, and is said to have arisen from the acci- 
dental circumstance that Aristodemus left twin sons, 
Eurysthenes and Procles. This division of the royal 
power naturally tended to weaken its influence and 
to produce jealousies and dissensions between the 



Chap. IV THE SPARTAN CONSTITUTION 29 

two kings. Originally the kings were irresponsible 
commanders-in-chief in war and high-priests of the 
state, besides exercising certain other administrative 
and judicial functions. The royal power was on the 
decline, however, during the whole historical period, 
and the authority of the kings was gradually usurped 
by the ephors, who at length obtained the entire con- 
trol of the government, and reduced the kings to a 
state of humiliation and dependence. 

The Senate, called Gerusia, or the Council of Elders^ 
consisted of thirty members, among whom the two 
kings were included. They were obliged to be up- 
wards of sixty years of age, and they held their office 
for life. Their power was originally considerable, 
but, like that of the kings, was gradually limited by 
the ephors. They acted as an advisory council to 
the kings, discussed and prepared all measures which 
were to be brought before the popular assembly, 
and had some share in the general administration of 
the state* Their judicial functions also were impor- 
tant. They were judges in all criminal cases, espe- 
cially such as involved political offences ; even the 
kings might be brought to trial before them. 

The Popular Assembly, which met once a month, 
elected both senators and ephors, and settled all cases 
of disputed succession to the kingship. It did not 
initiate legislation, but decided questions, especially 
those relating to war, peace, and alliances, which were 
brought before it by the kings and the senate, or, in 
later times, by the ephors. Open discussion was not 
allowed in the assembly. 

The Ephors were probably of late origin, and did 
not exist in the original constitution of Lycurgus. 
They may be regarded as the representatives of the 



30 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IV 

popular assembty. They were elected annually from 
the general body of Spartan citizens, and seem to 
have been originally appointed to protect the interests 
and liberties of the people against the encroachments 
of the kings and the senate. They correspond in 
many respects to the tribunes of the people at Rome. 
Their functions were at first limited and of small im- 
portance ; but in the end the whole political power 
became centred in their hands. 

The Spartan government was in reality a close oli- 
garchy, in which the kings and the senate, as well as 
the people, were alike subject to the irresponsible au- 
thority of the five ephors. 

Education and Training of the Spartans. — The most 
important part of the legislation of Lycurgus did 
not relate to the political constitution of Sparta, but 
to the discipline and education of the citizens. It 
was these which gave Sparta her peculiar character, 
and distinguished her in so striking a manner from 
all the other states of Greece. The position of the 
Spartans, surrounded by numerous enemies, whom 
they held in subjection by the sword alone, com- 
pelled them to be a nation of soldiers. Lycurgus de- 
termined that they should be nothing else; and the 
great object of his whole system was to cultivate a 
martial spirit, and to give them a training which 
would make them invincible in battle. To accom- 
plish this, the education of a Spartan was placed un- 
der the control of the state from his earliest boyhood. 
Every child after birth was exhibited to public view, 
and if deemed deformed and weakly was exposed to 
perish on Mount Taygetus. At the age of seven he 
was taken from his mother's care, and handed over to 
the public classes. He was not only taught gymnastic 



Chap. IV SPARTAN EDUCATION AND TRAINING 31 

games and military exercises, but he was also sub- 
jected to severe bodily discipline, and was compelled 
to submit to hardships and suffering without repining 
or complaint. One of the tests to which he was sub- 
jected was a cruel scourging at the altar of Artemis. 
It was inflicted publicly before the eyes of his parents 
and in the presence of the whole city ; and many 
Spartan youths were known to have died under the 
lash without uttering a complaining murmur. No 
means were neglected to prepare them for the hard- 
ships and stratagems of war. They were obliged to 
wear the same garment winter and summer, and to en- 
dure hunger and thirst, heat and cold. They were 
purposely allowed an insufficient quantity of food, but 
were permitted to make up the deficiency by hunting 
in the woods and mountains of Laconia. They were 
even encouraged to steal whatever they could ; but 
if they were caught in the act they were severely 
punished for their want of dexterity. Plutarch tells 
us of a boy who, having stolen a fox and hidden it 
under his garment, chose rather to let it tear out his 
very bowels than be detected in the theft. 

The literary education of a Spartan youth was of a 
most restricted kind. He was taught to despise lit- 
erature as unworthy of a warrior, while the study of 
eloquence and philosophy, which were cultivated at 
Athens with such extraordinary success, was regard- 
ed at Sparta with contempt. Long speeches were a 
Spartan's abhorrence, and he was trained to express 
himself with sententious brevity. 

A Spartan was not considered to have reached the 
full age of manhood till he had completed his thir- 
tieth year. He was then allowed to marry and to 
take part in the public assembly, and he was then 



32 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IV 

eligible to the offices of the state. But he still con- 
tinued under the public discipline, and was not per- 
mitted even to take his meals with his wife. "It was 
not till he had reached his sixtieth year that he was 
released from the public discipline and from mili- 
tary service. 

The public mess — called Syssitia — is said to have 
been instituted by Lycurgus to prevent all indulgence 
of the appetite, and to prepare the citizens in times 
of peace for the life of the camp. Public tables were 
provided, at which every male citizen was obliged to 
take his meals. Each table accommodated about fif- 
teen persons, who formed a separate mess, into which 
no new member was admitted except by the unani- 
mous consent of the whole company. Each sent 
monthly to the common stock a specified quantity of 
barley-meal, wine, cheese, and figs, and a small sum of 
money. No distinction of any kind w T as allowed at 
these frugal meals. Meat was only eaten occasionally; 
and one of the principal dishes was black broth. Of 
what it consisted we do not know. The tyrant Dio- 
nysius found it very unpalatable ; but, as the cook 
told him, the broth w r as nothing without the season- 
ing of fatigue and hunger. 

Discipline and Position of Women. — The Spartan women 
in their earlier years were subjected to a course 
of training almost as rigorous as that of the men, 
and contended with one another in running, wrest- 
ling, and other athletic exercises. At the age of 
twenty a Spartan woman usually married, and she 
was no longer subjected to the public discipline. 
Although she enjoyed little of her husband's society, 
she w r as treated by him w 7 ith deep respect, and was 
allowed a greater degree of liberty than was tol- 



Chap. IV REGULATIONS AS TO LAND AND MONEY 33 

erated in other Grecian states. Hence she took a 
lively interest in the welfare and glory of her native 
land, and was animated by an earnest and lofty spirit 
of patriotism. The Spartan mother had reason to be 
proud of herself and of her children. When a wom- 
an of another country said to Gorgo, the wife of Le- 
onidas, "The Spartan women alone rule the men," 
she replied, "The Spartan women alone bring forth 
men." Their husbands and their sons were fired by 
their sympathy to deeds of heroism. " Return either 
with your shield or upon it," was the exhortation of 
one mother to her son when going to battle. 

Allotment of Lands: Money and Commerce. — Lycurgus 
is said to have divided the land belonging to the 
Spartans into six thousand equal lots, one of which 
was assigned to each Spartan citizen. These lands, 
however, were still looked upon as the common 
property of the state, which the holder could not sell 
nor even bequeath to whom he chose. In case he 
died leaving no heirs, his share reverted to the state. 

Neither gold nor silver money was allowed in Spar- 
ta, and nothing but bars of iron passed in exchange 
for every commodity. As the Spartans were not 
permitted to engage in commerce, and all luxury and 
display in dress, furniture, and food were forbidden, 
they had very little occasion for a circulating medi- 
um, and iron money was found sufficient for their 
few wants. But this prohibition of the precious met- 
als only made the Spartans more anxious to obtain 
them ; and even in the times of their greatest glory 
the Spartans were the most venal of the Greeks, and 
could rarely resist the temptation of a bribe. 

Results of the Legislation of Lycurgus. — The legislation 
of Lycurgus was followed by important results. It 



34 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IV 

made the Spartans a body of professional soldiers, 
well trained and well disciplined, at a time when 
military training and discipline were little known, 
and almost unpractised in the other states of Greece. 
The consequence was the rapid growth of the po- 
litical power of Sparta, and the subjugation of the 
neighboring states. At the time of Lycurgus the 
Spartans held only a small portion of Laconia ; they 
were merely a garrison in the heart of an enemy's 
country, and it was only after a severe struggle 
that they succeeded in making themselves masters 
of Laconia. In the long series of wars which they 
afterwards waged with the Messenians, Arcadians, 
and Argives, they were often beaten, but finally 
triumphed. We have no complete or trustworthy 
information with regard to the details or even the 
dates of these various struggles. The main facts are 
reasonably certain, but so vast a mass of tradition is 
interwoven with the extant accounts, especially of 
the Messenian wars, and the versions given by differ- 
ent authorities are so conflicting, that the truth is 
often obscured or perverted. 

The Supremacy of Argos: Phidon. — In the first half 
of the 8th century B.C., Argos, under its mighty ruler 
Phidon, was still the first state in Peloponnesus. 
Phidon's realm included not only all Argolis, to- 
gether with the northeastern coast of what was 
afterwards Laconia, but also the important states 
of Corinth, Sicyon, and ^Egina. He has also the 
credit of having introduced a system of weights 
and measures into Peloponnesus, and is said to have 
been the first Greek ruler to coin money. In the year 
148 B.C., according to tradition, he marched into Elis, 
and took to himself the management of the Olympic 



B.C. 743 THE FIRST MESSENIAN WAR 35 

games, which had been in charge of the Eleans, the 
descendants of the iEtolians who guided the Hera- 
clidae on their return to Peloponnesus. Thereupon it 
is said that the Spartans made common cause with 
the Eleans, and drove back the Argives. Shortly af- 
ter this Phidon met his death at Corinth, and Sparta, 
freed from her most dangerous enemy, turned her 
arms against the Messenians, her neighbors to the 
west. The murder of a Spartan king by the Messe- 
nians was said to have been the immediate occasion of 
the war. Doubtless the real reason was simply a de- 
sire on the part of the Spartans to acquire new terri- 
tory. The final subjugation of Messenia was only 
accomplished after two long and obstinately contest- 
ed wars. 

The First Messenian War — The First Messenian War 
is generally supposed to have lasted from 743 to 
724 b.c. During the first four years the Lacedae- 
monians made little progress; but in the fifth and 
sixth two pitched battles were fought, and, although 
the result of each was indecisive, the Messenians did 
not venture to risk another engagement, and retired 
to the strongly fortified mountain of Ithome. In their 
distress they sent to consult the oracle at Delphi, and 
received the appalling answer that the salvation of 
Messenia required the sacrifice of a virgin of the royal 
house to the gods of the lower world. Aristodemus, 
who is the Messenian hero of the first war, slew his 
own daughter, which so disheartened the Spartans 
that they abstained from attacking the Messenians 
for some years. In the thirteenth year of the war 
the Spartan king marched against Ithome, and a third 
great battle was fought, but the result was again in- 
decisive. The Messenian king fell in the action ; and 



36 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IV 

Aristodemus, who was chosen king in his place, pros- 
ecuted the war with vigor. In the fifth year of his 
reign another great battle was fought. This time the 
Messenians gained a decisive victory, and the Lace- 
daemonians were driven back into their own territory. 
They now sent to ask advice of the Delphian oracle, 
and were promised success upon using stratagem. 
They therefore had recourse to fraud ; and at the 
same time various prodigies dismayed the bold spirit 
of Aristodemus. His daughter, too, appeared to him 
in a dream, showed him her wounds, and predicted 
his approaching death. Seeing that his country was 
doomed to destruction, Aristodemus slew himself on 
his daughter's tomb. Shortly afterwards, in the twen- 
tieth year of the war, the Messenians abandoned Itho- 
me, and the whole country became subject to Sparta. 
Many of the inhabitants fled into other countries ; 
but those who remained were reduced to the condi- 
tion of Helots, and were compelled to pay to their 
masters half of the produce of their lands. 

Sparta at War with the Argives and Arcadians Soon 

after the close of this first Messenian war, the Spar- 
tans again turned their attention to Argos. In the 
year 718 b.c. they won a decisive victory at Thy- 
rea, and expelled the Argives from Laconia. Fifty 
years later, however, the tables were turned. The 
Spartans had marched through Arcadia and into the 
territory of the Argives, but met a crushing defeat 
at their hands at Hysise (668 b.c). This disaster 
naturally gave fresh courage to Sparta's enemies 
throughout Peloponnesus. In 660 b.c. the Pisatre, 
the original inhabitants of western Peloponnesus 
who had been dispossessed by the Eleans, rose against 
their masters and succeeded in recovering Olympia 



B.C. 650 THE SECOND MESSENIAN WAR 37 

and the superintendence of the games. The Eleans 
were allies of Sparta, but she was unable now to ren- 
der them any assistance. A Spartan force did, in the 
next year, penetrate into Arcadia and capture Phiga- 
lia, but only to be driven back again. A few years 
thereafter we find the Argives, Arcadians, and Pisatae 
assisting the Messenians in a revolt against Spartan 
rule. Sparta, aided only by the Corinthians, was thus 
confronted with a formidable alliance. 

The Second Messenian War. — So began the Second Mes- 
senian War, which is supposed to have lasted for 
seventeen years. Its hero is Aristomenes, whose won- 
derful exploits form the great subject of this war. 
The first battle was fought before the arrival of the 
allies on either side, and, though it was indecisive, the 
valor of Aristomenes struck fear into the hearts of 
the Spartans. To frighten the enemy still more, the 
hero crossed the frontier, entered Sparta by night, 
and affixed a shield to the temple of Athena with the 
inscription, " Dedicated by Aristomenes to the god- 
dess from the Spartan spoils." The Spartans, in 
alarm, are said to have sent to Delphi for advice. 
The god bade them apply to Athens for a leader. 
Fearing to disobey the oracle, but with the view of 
rendering no real assistance, the Athenians sent Tyr- 
teeus, a lame man and a school-master. The Spartans 
received their new leader with honor ; and he was 
not long in justifying the credit of the oracle. His 
martial songs roused their fainting courage ; and so 
efficacious were his poems that to them is mainly 
ascribed the final success of the Spartan arms. 

Encouraged by the strains of Tyrtseus, the Spartans 
again marched' against the Messenians. But they 
were not at first successful. A great battle was 



38 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IV 

fought at the Boar's Grave in the plain of Stenyclerus, 
in which they were defeated with great loss. In the 
third year of the war another great battle was fought, 
in which the Messenians suffered a signal defeat. So 
great was their loss that Aristomenes no longer vent- 
ured to meet the Spartans in the open field. Follow- 
ing the example of the Messenian leaders in the for- 
mer w T ar, he retired to the mountain fortress of Ira. 
The Spartans encamped at the foot of the mountain ; 
but Aristomenes frequently sallied from the fortress, 
and ravaged the lands of Laconia with fire and sword. 
It is unnecessary to relate all the wonderful exploits 
of this hero in his various incursions. Thrice was he 
taken prisoner ; on two occasions he burst his bonds, 
but on the third he was carried to Sparta, and thrown 
with his fifty companions into a deep pit, called Cea- 
das. His comrades were all killed by the fall, but 
Aristomenes reached the bottom unhurt. He saw, 
however, no means of escape, and had resigned him- 
self to death ; but on the third day, perceiving a fox 
creeping among the bodies, he grasped its tail, and, 
following the animal as it struggled to escape, dis- 
covered an opening in the rock, and on the next day 
was at Ira, to the surprise alike of friends and foes. 
But his single prowess was not sufficient to avert the 
ruin of his country. One night the Spartans surprised 
Ira while Aristomenes was disabled by a wound ; but 
he collected the bravest of his followers, and forced 
his way through the enemy. Many of the Messeni- 
ans went to Rhegium, in Italy, under the sons of Aris- 
tomenes, but the hero himself finished his days in 
Rhodes. 

The second Messenian war was terminated by the 
complete subjugation of the Messenians, who again be- 



B.C. 550 THE SPARTAN SUPREMACY 39 

came the serfs of their conquerors. In this condition 
they remained till the restoration of their indepen- 
dence by Epaminondas, in the year 370 B.C. During 
the whole of the intervening period the Messenians 
disappear from history. The country called Mes- 
senia on the map became a portion of Laconia, which 
thus extended across the south of Peloponnesus from 
the eastern to the western sea. 

The Establishment of Spartan Supremacy. — During the 
next century after the Messenian wars, the Spartans 
succeeded in establishing their supremacy over the 
greater part of Peloponnesus. Not long after 600 
B.C. the Eleans, their allies, won back Olympia from 
the Pisatae ; and when, about 570 B.C., the latter re- 
volted, the Spartans assisted the Eleans in reducing 
them to subjection. It is not improbable that at 
this time Elis recognized the supremacy of Sparta. 
About twenty years later the Spartans finally com- 
pleted the conquest of Tegea. This was the most 
important city of Arcadia, and had held its own 
against Sparta in a number of contests. The down- 
fall of Tegea was no doubt followed by the gradual 
submission of the rest of Arcadia. Only Argos still 
held out against the increasing power of her southern 
neighbor; but her power was no longer what it had 
been in the days of Phidon. In the year 546 b.c. the 
Spartans inflicted a crushing defeat upon their rivals, 
from the effects of which Argos did not recover for 
a generation. 

Other Peloponnesian States : Achaia, Corinth, and Sicyon. 

The early history of three other states of Pelopon- 
nesus — Achaia, Corinth, and Sicyon — may be summed 
up in a few words. For many centuries Achaia 
played only an unimportant part in the affairs of 



40 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IV 

Greece. Originally, according to tradition, it was 
ruled by kings ; later each town had its own inde- 
pendent government. On the whole, the country was 
best known for the colonies which it sent out to 
southern Italy. 

Corinth, on the other hand, w T as from an early pe- 
riod one of the most flourishing cities in Greece. By 
virtue of its position on the isthmus it became a most 
important commercial centre, and it was famed also 
for its manufactures. About the middle of the 7th 
century B.C. the ruling oligarchy was overthrown by 
the tyrant Cypselus, w T ho still further extended the 
power and influence of his city. His son Periander, 
who succeeded him in 625 B.C., won even greater re- 
nown, as a statesman and as a patron of art and liter- 
ature. He was numbered, together with the Athe- 
nian, Solon, among the " seven wise men " of Greece. 
Shortly after the death of Periander an oligarchy 
was re-established in Corinth ; but the city never 
afterwards occupied as prominent a position in Greece 
as during his reign. 

In the same way the small city of Sicyon,. to the 
west of Corinth, won a distinction during the 7th 
and 6th centuries B.C. w r hich it was afterwards unable 
to maintain. Here, as at Corinth, the oligarchy had 
given place to a rule by tyrants. The most famous 
and probably the last of these was Clisthenes (596- 
565 B.C.). He is said to have been the first to win 
the four-horse chariot race at the Pythian games ; 
later he was equally successful at Olympia. He also 
took a prominent part in the First Sacred War, which 
was waged about 590 b.c. against the inhabitants of 
Crisa, a town close by Delphi. The Crisaeans had 
been in the habit of levying tribute upon the pilgrims 



B.C. 590 



THE FIRST SACRED WAR 



41 



to Delphi who passed through their territory. The 
Delphians complained to the Amphictyonic Council, 
which resolved, upon the motion of Solon, to punish 
the evil-doers. The Amphictyonic army was led by 
Eurylochus, a Thessalian; Athens and Sicyon sent 
contingents. The war ended with the destruction of 
Crisa. The Crisaean plain was laid waste and conse- 
crated to Apollo, a curse being laid upon him who 
should till it. 

During his entire life Clisthenes was a bitter enemy 
of the Dorian element in his city, the descendants of 
the old Dorian conquerors. He seems, indeed, to have 
deprived them in part of their civic rights. After his 
death the Dorians recovered the position and dignity 
which they had formerly enjoyed. Ultimately Sic- 
yon became a dependency of Sparta. 





ATHENA PEGASUS 

Coin of Corinth 



CHAPTER V 

EARLY HISTORY OF ATHENS, DOWN TO THE ESTAB- 
LISHMENT OF DEMOCRACY BY CLISTHENES, 508 B.C. 

Changes of Government in Greece: Oligarchy, Democracy, 
and the Tyrants — Sparta was the only state in Greece 
which continued to retain the kingly form of govern- 
ment during the brilliant period of Grecian history. 
In all other parts of Greece royalty had been abolished 
at an early age, and various forms of republican gov- 
ernment established in its stead. The abolition of 
royalty was first followed by an Oligarchy, or the gov- 
ernment of the Few. Democracy, or the government 
of the Many, was of later growth. It was not from 
the people that the oligarchies received their first 
and greatest blow. They were generally overthrown 
by the usurpers, to whom the Greeks gave the name 
of Tyrants* 

The rise of the Tyrants seems to have taken place 
at about the same time in a large number of the Greek 
cities. In most cases they belonged to the nobles, 
and they generally became masters of the state by es- 
pousing the cause of the commonalty, and using the 

* The Greek word Tyrant does not correspond in meaning to the 
same word in the English language. It signifies simply an irre- 
sponsible ruler, and may, therefore, be more correctly rendered by 
the term Despot. 



Chap. V EARLY HISTORY OF ATHENS 43 

strength of the people to put down the oligarchy by- 
force. At first they were popular with the general body 
of the citizens, who were glad to see the humiliation of 
their former masters. But discontent soon began to 
arise ; the tyrant had recourse to violence to quell 
disaffection ; and the government often became in 
reality a tyranny in the modern sense of the word. 

Many of the tyrants in Greece were put down by 
the Lacedaemonians. The Spartan government was 
essentially an oligarchy, and the Spartans were always 
ready to lend their powerful aid in favor of the gov- 
ernment of the Few. Hence they took an active part 
in the overthrow of the despots, with the intention 
of establishing the ancient oligarchy in their place. 
But this rarely happened; and they found it impos- 
sible in most cases to reinstate the former body of 
nobles in their ancient privileges. The latter, it is 
true, attempted to regain them, and were supported 
in their attempts by Sparta. Hence arose a new 
struggle. The first contest after the abolition of 
royalty was between oligarchy and the despot, the 
next was between oligarchy and democracy. 

The history of Athens affords the most striking il- 
lustration of the different revolutions of which we 
have been speaking. 

Early History of Athens— Little is known of Athens 
before the age of Solon. Its legendary tales are few, 
its historical facts still fewer. Cecrops, the first king 
of Attica, is said to have divided the country into 
twelve districts, which are represented as independent 
communities, each having its own magistrates. They 
were afterwards united into a single state, having 
Athens as its capital and the seat of government. At 
what time this important union was effected cannot 



44 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. V 

be determined ; but it is ascribed to Theseus, as the 
national hero of the Athenian people. 

The Rise of an Oligarchy at Athens. — The change of 
government at Athens from royalty to an oligarchy 
seems to have taken place peaceably and gradually. 
The nobility sought to diminish the power of the 
king by creating from time to time new offices, to 
which some of the functions which had before be- 
longed to the king were transferred. Thus the 
king was originally leader of his people in time of 
war ; the nobles deprived him of this position and 
chose one of their own number, with the title of Pol- 
emarch, or Commander-in-chief, to perform its duties. 
Later, the office of Archon, or Ruler, was established, 
and to him the king was compelled to yield some 
further part of his authority. The functions of gov- 
ernment, therefore, were now divided between king, 
polemarch, and archon, all three of them holding 
office for life. Perhaps at this time the kingship had 
ceased to be an hereditary dignity ; it certainly had 
become elective when, in 752 B.C., the tenure of office 
of king, polemarch, and archon was reduced to ten 
years. Seventy years later (682 b.c.) the term be- 
came one year instead of ten. It was probably not 
Ion <? after this last chancre that a new board of ma?;- 
istrates was created. They were six in number, were 
elected annually, and bore the name of Thesmothetce* 
or Legislators. It was their duty to record and pre- 
serve judicial decisions. They came to be closely as- 
sociated with the three more important officials who 
had before directed the affairs of the state, and the 
whole body of nine received the general name of 
Archons. It is probable that the king retained for a 
time his ancient pre-eminence, and acted as president 



Chap. V THE ATHENIAN CONSTITUTION 45 

of the newly constituted board of nine ; but later he 
yielded this dignity to The Archon — that is, the of- 
ficial who had originally been third in rank, follow- 
ing the king and polemarch. 

The Athenian Constitution before Draco Such was the 

composition and ranking of the board of nine archons 
as it existed at the beginning of the classical period. 
The first archon was still called The Archon, or the 
Archon Eponymus because the year was distin- 
guished by his name. The Archon Basileus, or 
King Archon, was second in order, and retained the 
priestly functions which had belonged to the king. 
Next was the Archon Polemarch us, w T ho continued 
to be commander-in-chief of the army. The remain- 
ing six still bore only the common title of Thesmo- 
thetae. As a court the nine archons judged both civil 
and criminal cases. 

The archons, however, were- only nominally at 
the head of the state. The chief power belonged 
to the Senate of the Areopagus,* a body of nobles 
who held office for life. This Senate may be re- 
garded as the representative of the Council of Chiefs 
in the Heroic age. It possessed the most numer- 
ous and important administrative functions, watched 
over the observance and maintenance of the laws, 
and had full power to punish misconduct on the part 
of the citizens. The Senate also selected the archons, 
and all archons at the expiration of their year of 
office became members of the Senate. 

The government of Athens was therefore a close 

* It received its name from its place of meeting, which was a 
rocky eminence opposite the Acropolis, called the Hill of Ares (Mars' 
Hill). 



46 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. V 

oligarchy. The Senate, through its right to choose 
archons who eventually became senators, was a self- 
perpetuating body. Being made up from the nobility, 
it w r ould naturally choose none but nobles for the po- 
sition of archon. On the other hand, the archons, 
elected as they were by the Senate and destined to 
become members of that council, would act in ac- 
cordance with its wishes. The people or general body 
of freemen had no share in the government. 

Classes and Tribes in the Athenian State. — The Athe- 
nian nobles were called Eupatridce, the two other 
classes in the state being the Geomori or husband- 
men, and Demiurgi or artisans. This arrangement 
is ascribed to Theseus; but there was another divi- 
sion of the people of still greater antiquity. As 
the Dorians were divided into three tribes, so the 
Ionians were usually distributed into four tribes. 
The latter division also existed among the Atheni- 
ans, who were Ionians, and it continued in full vigor 
down to the great revolution of Clisthenes (508 B.C.). 
These tribes were distinguished by the names of 
Geleontes, Argadeis, ^Egicoreis, and Hopletes. Each 
tribe contained three Phratrise, each Phratria thirty 
Gentes, and each Gens thirty heads of families. 

The Conspiracy of Cylon — The noble families of Ath- 
ens, possessing the whole power in the state at a time 
w r hen its material prosperity was beginning, became 
w T ealthy, and prominent throughout Greece. Several 
of them were connected by marriage with the tyrants 
of other states. Perhaps it was an acquaintance with 
these tyrants and a desire for the irresponsible power 
which they possessed that led Cylon, one of the Eupa- 
tridoe, to attempt to make himself master of Athens. 
His father-in-law, Theagenes, tyrant of Megara, sent 



B.C. 630 THE CONSPIRACY OF CYLOX 47 

him some assistance, and having collected a consid- 
erable force he seized the Acropolis (about 630 B.C.). 
He did not, however, meet with support from the great 
mass of the people, and soon found himself closely 
blockaded by the forces of the Eupatridae. Cylon and 
his brother made their escape, but the remainder of 
his associates, hard pressed by hunger, abandoned the 
defence of the walls, and took refuge at the altar of 
Athena. They were induced by the archon Megacles, 
one of the illustrious family of the Alcmaeonidae, to 
quit the altar on the promise that their lives should 
be spared ; but directly they had left the temple they 
were put to death, and some of them were murdered 
even at the altar of the Eumenides or Furies. 

The conspiracy thus failed ; but its suppression 
was attended with a long train of melancholy conse- 
quences. The whole family of the Alcmseonidae was 
believed to have become tainted by the daring act of 
sacrilege committed by Megacles ; and the friends 
and partisans of the murdered conspirators were not 
slow in demanding vengeance upon the accursed race. 
Finally the Alcmaeonidae were adjudged guilty of 
sacrilege by a court of three hundred Eupatridse, and 
were expelled from Attica. The banishment of the 
guilty race did not, however, relieve the Athenians 
from their religious fears. A pestilential disease with 
which they were said to have been visited shortly 
afterwards was regarded as an unerring sign of the 
divine wrath. Upon the advice of the Delphic oracle 
they invited the celebrated Cretan prophet and sage, 
Epimenides, to visit Athens and purify their city 
from pollution and sacrilege. By performing certain 
sacrifices and expiatory acts Epimenides succeeded 
in staying the plague. 



48 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. V 

The Constitution and Laws of Draco. —The revolt of 
Cylon and the banishment of the Alemaeonidse had 
shaken the power of the nobility; and the commons 
took advantage of the opportunity to press their 
claim to the rights of citizenship and a share in the 
government of the state. Hitherto, as we have seen, 
they had enjoyed neither the one nor the other. 
Moreover, they had no doubt placed the nobles un- 
der obligations to them for assistance rendered in 
putting down the revolt of Cylon. Under these cir- 
cumstances the nobles deemed' it expedient to make 
concessions, and accordingly appointed Draco to draw 
up a new constitution * and a code of laws (621 B.C.). 

The most important change introduced by Draco 
was to make citizenship and the right to hold office 
dependent upon wealth instead of birth. He con- 
ferred the franchise upon all those who served as 
heavy- armed soldiers in time of war — that is, who 
were able to furnish their own military equipment. 
The archonship was open only to those who possessed 
unencumbered property worth at least ten mincie.\ 
For the office of Strategus, or General, a property 
qualification of 100 mince was requisite. The powers 
of the archons appear to have remained the same as 
before; on the other hand, the strategi are mentioned 
now for the first time. They were the actual leaders 
of the army, while the Polemarch probably still held 

* Tins "Draconian Constitution " is known to us only from a re- 
cently discovered work of Aristotle, and scholars have doubted the 
existence of such a constitution as he describes before the time of 
Solon. It has been thought best, however, to indicate its leading 
features as outlined by Aristotle. 

f About $260. The mina was worth considerably more than in 
later times. 



B.C. 621 THE CONSTITUTION OF DRACO 49 

bis original position as commander-in-chief. Both 
archons and generals were no doubt elected by the 
Senate of the Areopagus. Minor officials were chosen 
by lot from among the whole body of citizens over 
thirty years of age. 

The Senate of the Areopagus still continued to 
exist, but was deprived of many of the powers which 
it had formerly exercised. It was still charged with 
the maintenance of the laws, and it exercised a gen- 
eral supervision over the various magistrates to in- 
sure the proper performance of their duties. As a 
court, it was given jurisdiction over all cases of in- 
tentional manslaughter. Its administrative functions, 
however, were transferred to a second Senate,* which 
was now established. This new Senate consisted of 
401 members, who, like the minor officials, were chos- 
en by lot from among the whole body of citizens over 
thirty years of age. It was virtually the ruling power 
in the state. 

Draco's legislation limited in many ways the power 
of the nobility. No doubt the archons and generals 
were still nobles, since they were elected by the Sen- 
ate of the Areopagus. But the wealthier of the com- 
mon people now enjoyed the right of citizenship, 
they were eligible to membership in the new Senate, 
and they might hold minor offices. At best, how- 
ever, the rule of the nobles was only exchanged for 
that of the rich; the masses were no better off than 
before. The constitution of Draco merely changed 
the Athenian form of government, without touching 
or solving the important social and economical ques- 

* For the sake of distinguishing the two bodies the old Senate 
came to be called simply " The Areopagus." 
4 



50 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. V 

tions which confronted the state. It was not long 
before the discontent of the people was found to be 
increasing instead of diminishing, and bitter civil dis- 
sensions prevailed. 

Factional Strife in Attica. — The population of Attica 
was now divided into three hostile factions, consist- 
ing of the Pedieis, or wealthy Eupatrid inhabitants 
of the plains; of the Diacrii, or poor inhabitants 
of the hilly districts in the north and east of Attica; 
and of the Parali, or mercantile inhabitants of the 
coasts, who held an intermediate position between 
the other two. Their disputes were aggravated by 
the miserable condition of the poorer population. 
The latter were in a state of abject poverty. They 
had borrowed money from the w T ealthy at exorbitant 
rates of interest upon the security of their property 
and their persons. If the principal and interest of 
the debt w r ere not paid, the creditor had the power 
of seizing the person as well as the land of his debtor, 
and of using him as a slave. Many had thus been 
torn from their homes and sold to alien masters, 
while others w T ere cultivating as slaves the lands 
of their wealthy creditors in Attica. Matters had 
at length reached a crisis ; the existing laws could 
no longer be enforced ; and the poor were ready to 
rise in open insurrection against the rich. 

Solon. — In the midst of these dissensions there was 
one man who enjoyed a distinguished reputation at 
Athens, and whom his fellow -citizens regarded as 
the only person in the state who could deliver them 
from their political and social dissensions, and secure 
them from such misfortunes for the future. This man 
was Solon, the son of Execestides, and a descendant 
of Codrus. He had travelled through many parts of 



B.C. 594 THE CONSTITUTION OF SOLON 51 

Greece and Asia, and had formed acquaintance with 
many of the most eminent men of his time. On his 
return to his native country he distinguished himself 
by recovering the island of Salamis, which had fallen 
into the hands of the Megarians (600 B.C.). He was 
now (594 b.c.) chosen archon, and invested with un- 
limited powers to eifect any change he might con- 
sider beneficial to the state. His appointment was 
hailed with satisfaction by the poor, and all parties 
were willing to accept his mediation and reforms. 

The Constitution and Laws of Solon. — Solon commenced 
his undertaking by relieving the poorer class of debt- 
ors from their existing distress. He cancelled all 
contracts by which the land or person of a debtor 
had been given as security; and he forbade for the 
future all loans in which the person of the debtor 
was pledged. He also provided that no one should 
possess more than a certain fixed amount of land, 
thus limiting the acquisitions of the wealthy landed 
proprietors, and encouraging the small owners. He 
next proceeded to draw up a new constitution and a 
new code of laws. As a preliminary step, he re- 
pealed all the laws of Draco except those relat- 
ing to homicide. He then made a new classifica- 
tion of the citizens, or, more probably, adapted to his 
purposes a classification that already existed. Every 
citizen was assigned, according to the amount of his 
income, to one of four classes. The first class, called 
Pentacosiomedimni* consisted of those who derived 
from their own lands a yearly return of at least 500 

* The raedimnus was about a bushel and a half. The term is 
loosely used to include the corresponding unit of liquid measure, the 
metretes (S-J- gallons). 



52 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. V 

measures, whether of grain, oil, wine, or all togeth- 
er. The second class consisted of those who de- 
rived in the same way a yearly return of from 300 to 
500 measures ; they were called Hippeis or Knights, 
from their being able to furnish a war-horse. The 
third class consisted of those who harvested from 
200 to 300 measures; they were called Zeugita?, from 
their being able to keep a yoke of oxen for the 
plough. The fourth class, called Thetes, included 
those who harvested less than 200 measures, as well 
as all who possessed no real estate. The privi- 
leges and, on the other hand, the duties of citizens, 
depended upon their rank as thus determined. The 
first three classes were liable to military duty as 
heavy-armed soldiers; the fourth served only as light- 
armed troops or as oarsmen in the fleet. The first 
class alone were eligible to the archonship and the 
higher offices of the state ; the second and third 
classes filled inferior posts ; the fourth class were ex- 
cluded from all public offices. 

Solon also instituted a new method of choosing ar- 
chons and other magistrates. The four tribes chose 
each a certain number of candidates for the given 
office ; they must, of course, belong to the class or 
classes eligible to that office. The final selection was 
then by lot from among these candidates. The nine 
arch oris, for example, were chosen by lot from a list 
of forty candidates, each of the four tribes selecting 
ten. The powers and duties of the various officials 
seem to have remained the same as before. 

The Areopagus was thus deprived of one of its func- 
tions, that of electing archons and generals. In other 
respects its powers were not materially changed. The 
Senate of 401 which Draco had established became 



B.C. 594 THE CONSTITUTION OF SOLON 53 

now a body of 400, 100 from each tribe. Its mem- 
bers were probably chosen by lot in the same way as 
the archons. It is not known whether its functions 
differed in any way from those of Draco's Senate. 

Finally are to be mentioned the JEcclesia, or as- 
sembly of the people, and the Dicasteries, or popular 
courts. The Ecclesia was probably not a creation of 
Solon, but it was his legislation which first gave it 
prominence and importance. All citizens, even those 
of the fourth class, now became members of this body. 
Its powers, indeed, seem to have been rather limited. 
It probably had the right to decide on questions of 
war or peace, and on amendments or additions to the 
law of the land. Thus the poorest citizen had now 
some share in the government of the state. The crea- 
tion of the dicasteries still further increased the power 
of the masses. It is not known by what process the 
members of these courts were chosen ; but certainly 
every citizen was at least eligible to membership, and 
the courts were very large ones. Originally they had 
jurisdiction only in cases of appeal from a decision of 
the archons ; the natural result of this was that the 
judicial power of the archons soon passed almost en- 
tirely into the hands of the dicasteries. 

By the establishment of the dicasteries, and by giv- 
ing the poorer classes a vote in the popular assembly, 
Solon laid the foundation of the Athenian democracy; 
but he left the government almost exclusively in the 
hands of the wealthy. For many years after his time 
the government continued to be an oligarchy, but was 
exercised with more moderation and justice than for- 
merly. 

Solon enacted numerous laws, containing regula- 
tions on almost all subjects connected with the pub- 



54 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. V 

lie and private life of the citizens. He encouraged 
trade and manufactures, and invited foreigners to set- 
tle in Athens by the promise of protection and by 
valuable privileges. To discourage idleness, a son 
was not obliged to support his father in old age, if 
the latter had neglected to teach him some trade or 
occupation. 

Solon punished theft by compelling the guilty party 
to restore double the value of the property stolen. 
He forbade speaking evil either of the dead or of the 
living. 

Pisistratus becomes Tyrant of Athens. — Solon is said 
to have been aware that he had left many imper- 
fections in his laws. He described them not as the 
best laws which he could devise, but as the best 
which the Athenians could receive. Having bound 
the government and people of Athens by a solemn 
oath to observe his institutions for at least ten years, 
he left Athens and travelled in foreign lands. Dur- 
ing his absence the old dissensions between the 
Plain, the Shore, and the Mountain broke out afresh 
with more violence than ever. The first was head- 
ed by Lycurgus, the second by Megacles, an Alc- 
mseonid, and the third by Pisistratus, a kinsman 
of Solon. Of these leaders, Pisistratus was the ablest 
and the most dangerous. He had espoused the 
cause of the poorest of the three classes, in order to 
gain popularity, and to make himself master of Ath- 
ens. Solon, on his return to Athens, detected the am- 
bitious designs of his kinsman, and attempted to dis- 
suade him from them. Finding his remonstrances 
fruitless, he next denounced his projects in verses ad- 
dressed to the people. Few, however, gave any heed 
to the warnings; and Pisistratus, at length finding his 



B.C. 560 THE USURPATION OF PISISTRATUS ' 55 

schemes ripe for action, had recourse to a memorable 
stratagem to secure his object. One day he appeared 
in the market-place in a chariot, his mules and his 
own person bleeding with wounds inflicted with his 
own hands. These he exhibited to the people, tell- 
ing them that he had been nearly murdered in conse- 
quence of defending their rights. The popular in- 
dignation was excited ; and a guard of fifty men 
was granted him for his future security. He gradu- 
ally increased the number of his guard, and soon 
found himself strong enough to throw off the mask 
and seize the Acropolis (560 B.C.). Many of the no- 
bility left the city. Solon alone had the courage to 
oppose the usurpation, and upbraided the people with 
their cowardice and their treachery. " You might," 
said he, "with ease have crushed the tyrant in the 
bud ; but nothing now remains but to pluck him up 
by the roots." But no one responded to his appeal. 
He refused to fly; and when his friends asked him on 
what he relied for protection, " On my old age," was 
his reply. It is creditable to Pisistratus that he left 
his aged relative unmolested, and even asked his ad- 
vice in the administration of the government. Solon 
did not long survive the overthrow of the constitu- 
tion. He died a year or two afterwards, at the ad- 
vanced age of eightv. His ashes are said to have 
been scattered by his own direction upon the island of 
Salamis, which he had won for the Athenian people. 
The Administration of Pisistratus. — Pisistratus, howev- 
er, did not retain his power long. The leaders of 
the factions of the Shore and the Plain combined, 
and drove the usurper into exile. But the Shore and 
the Plain having quarrelled, Pisistratus was recalled 
and again became master of Athens. Another revo- 



56 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. V 

lution shortly afterwards drove him into exile a sec- 
ond time, and he remained abroad ten years. At 
length, with the assistance of mercenaries from other 
Grecian states and with the aid of his partisans in 
Athens, he became master of Athens for the third 
time, and henceforth continued in possession of the 
supreme power till the day of his death. As soon 
as he was firmly established in the government his 
administration was marked by mildness and equity. 
He maintained the institutions of Solon, taking care, 
however, that the highest offices should always be 
held by some members of his own family. He not 
only enforced strict obedience to the laws, but him- 
self set the example of submitting to them. Being 
accused of murder, he disdained to take advantage 
of his authority, and went in person to plead his 
cause before the Areopagus, where his accuser did 
not venture to appear. He courted popularity by lar- 
gesses to the citizens and by throwing open his gar- 
dens to the poor. He adorned Athens with many 
public buildings. He commenced on a stupendous 
scale a temple to the Olympian Zeus, which remained 
unfinished for centuries, and was at length completed 
by the Emperor Hadrian. He was a patron of liter- 
ature as well as of the arts. He is said to have been 
the first person in Greece who collected a library, 
which he threw open to the public; and to him, ac- 
cording to tradition, posterity is indebted for the col- 
lection of the Homeric poems. On the whole, it can- 
not be denied that he made a wise and noble use of 
his power. 

The Succession of Hippias and Hipparchus: Assassination 
of Hipparchus. — Pisistratus died at an advanced age in 
527 B.C., thirty-three years after his first usurpation. 



B.C. 514 THE ASSASSINATION OF HIPPARCHUS 57 

He transmitted the sovereign power to bis sons, Hip- 
pias and Hipparchus, who conducted the government 
on the same principles as their father. Hipparchus 
inherited his father's literary tastes. He invited sev- 
eral distinguished poets, such as Anacreon and Simon- 
ides, to his court. The people appear to have been 
contented with their rule; and it was only an acci- 
dental circumstance which led to their overthrow and 
to a change in the government. 

Their fall was occasioned by the conspiracy of Har- 
modius and Aristogiton, who were attached to each 
other by a most intimate friendship. Harmodius 
having given offence to Hipparchus, the despot re- 
venged himself by putting a public affront upon his 
sister. This indignity excited the resentment of the 
two friends, and they now resolved to slay the des- 
pots at the festival of the Great Panathenaea, when 
all the citizens were required to attend in arms. Hav- 
ing communicated their design to a few associates, 
the conspirators appeared armed at the appointed 
time like the rest of the citizens, but carrying con- 
cealed daggers besides. Harmodius and Aristogiton 
had planned to kill Hippias first as he was arranging 
the order of the procession outside the city, but, upon 
approaching the spot where he was standing, they 
were thunderstruck at beholding one of the conspira- 
tors in close conversation with the despot. Believing 
that they were betra'yed, they rushed back into the 
city with their daggers hid in the myrtle boughs 
which they were to have carried in the procession, 
and killed Hipparchus. Harmodius was immediately 
cut down by the guards. Aristogiton died under the 
tortures to which he was subjected in order to com- 
pel him to disclose his accomplices. 



58 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. V 

Hipparchus was assassinated in 514 B.C., the four- 
teenth year after the death of Pisistratus. From this 
time the character of the government became entirely 
changed. His brother's murder converted Hippias 
into a cruel and suspicious tyrant. He put to death 
numbers of the citizens, and raised large sums of 
money by extraordinary taxes. 

Expulsion of Hippias from Athens. — The Alcma3onida3, 
who had lived in exile ever since the third and final 
restoration of Pisistfatus to Athens, now began to 
form schemes to expel the tyrant. Clisthenes and 
Hippocrates, the sons of Megacles, who were now at 
the head of the family, secured the Delphian oracle 
by rebuilding at their own expense the temple of 
Apollo at Delphi, which had been destroyed by fire 
in the year 548 b.c. Henceforth, whenever the Spar- 
tans came to consult the oracle, the answer of the 
priestess was always the same, " Athens must be lib- 
erated." This order was so often repeated that the 
Spartans at last resolved to obey. Cleomenes, king 
of Sparta, defeated the Thessalian allies of Hippias; 
and the tyrant, unable to meet his enemies in the 
field, took refuge in the Acropolis. Here he might 
have maintained himself in safety had not his chil- 
dren been made prisoners as they were being secretly 
carried out of the country. To procure their restora- 
tion he consented to quit Attica in the space of five 
days. He sailed to Asia, and took up his residence 
at Sigeum in the Troad, which his father had wrested 
from the Mytilenseans in war. 

Hippias was expelled in 510 B.C., four years after 
the assassination of Hipparchus. These four years 
had been a time of suffering and oppression for the 
Athenians, and had effaced from their minds all recol- 



B.C. 508 THE REFORMS OF CLISTHENES 59 

lection of the former mild rule of Pisistratus and his 
sons. Hence the expulsion of the family was hailed 
with delight. The memory of Harmodius and Aris- 
togiton was cherished with the fondest reverence; 
and the Athenians of a later age, overlooking the 
four years which had elapsed from their death to the 
overthrow of the despotism, represented them as the 
liberators of their country and the first martyrs for 
its liberty. Their statues were erected in the mar- 
ket-place soon after the expulsion of Hippias; their 
descendants enjoyed distinguished privileges in the 
state ; and their deed of vengeance formed a favorite 
subject for song. 

The Reforms of Clisthenes. — The Lacedaemonians quit- 
ted Athens soon after Hippias had sailed away, leaving 
the Athenians to settle their own affairs. Clisthenes, 
to whom Athens was mainly indebted for its liberation 
from the despotism, aspired to be the political leader 
of the state ; in 508 B.C., however, his rival Isagoras 
was chosen first archon. Despairing of being able to 
gain his ends under the existing constitution, Clis- 
thenes resolved to put himself at the head of the 
democratic party, and to secure for the people an 
equal share in the government. The support of the 
masses enabled him to put down all opposition, and 
to carry out his projected reforms. 

The reforms of Clisthenes o;ave birth to the Athe- 

CD 

nian democracy, which can hardly be said to have 
existed before this time. His first measure was a re- 
distribution of the whole population of Attica into a 
hundred cantons, called demi. Every Athenian citi- 
zen was obliged to be enrolled in a demus, each of 
which, like a parish in England, administered its own 
affairs. It had its public meetings, it levied taxes, 



60 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. V 

and was under the superintendence of an officer called 
the Demar chits. 

Next he abolished the four ancient Ionic tribes and 
established ten new tribes, each composed of ten demi. 
But in order to guard against local dissensions, the 
demi of which each tribe was made up were not ad- 
jacent, but scattered throughout Attica. Each tribe 
held its own meetings and elected its own officials 
(Epimeletce). There was no longer any distinction, 
either in tribe or demus, between the nobles and the 
commons ; all were alike citizens. Many resident 
aliens and emancipated slaves were also enrolled as 
citizens. 

The establishment of the ten new tribes led to a 
change in the number of the Senate. It had pre- 
viously consisted of 400 members, but it was now 
enlarged to 500, fifty being selected from each of 
the ten new tribes. The representatives of each 
tribe held the presidency of the Senate for one-tenth 
of the year. In this capacity they were called Pryt- 
anes, and presided over the meetings of the Eccle- 
sia or popular assembly, as well as those of the Senate. 
Thus there was an organic connection between the 
two bodies, the Prytanes presenting to the Ecclesia 
measures proposed and formulated by the Senate. 
The Ecclesia was now summoned at certain fixed 
periods; and the government of the state was placed 
in the hands of the Senate and the Ecclesia. 

The archons were still nominally the highest officers 
of the state. They were now (until 487 b.c.) elected 
instead of being chosen by lot. The strategi or gen- 
erals, who are not mentioned in Solon's constitution, 
now appear again. Clisthenes made them ten in num- 
ber, one being chosen by each tribe. The whole 



B.C. 508 THE REFORMS OF CLISTHENES 61 

military system, in fact, was made to depend upon 
the tribal division, each tribe furnishing one regi- 
ment of heavy-armed foot-soldiers and a squadron of 
cavalry. The Polemarch was still commander-in-chief 
of the army, though later he became merely an hon- 
orary member of the board of strategi. The latter 
in course of time took to themselves most of the ad- 
ministrative functions formerly possessed by the ar- 
chons. 

Clisthenes also introduced the Ostracism, by which 
an Athenian citizen might be banished without spe- 
cial accusation, trial, or defence for ten years, which 
term was subsequently reduced to five. It must be 
recollected that the force which a Greek government 
had at its disposal was very small ; and that it was 
comparatively easy for an ambitious citizen, support- 
ed by a numerous body of partisans, to overthrow 
the constitution and make himself despot. The Os- 
tracism was the means devised by Clisthenes for re- 
moving guietly from the state a powerful party-lead- 
er before he could carry into execution any violent 
schemes for the subversion of the government. Every 
precaution was taken to guard this institution from 
abuse. Each year the Ecclesia was asked to decide, 
by a special vote, whether the safety of the state re- 
quired such a step to be taken. If they decided in 
the affirmative, a day was fixed for the voting, and 
each citizen wrote upon a tile or oyster-shell* the 
name of the person whom he wished to banish. The 
votes were then collected, and if the whole number 
amounted to 6000, the man who received the majority 
of them was obliged to withdraw from the city within 

* Ostracon, whence the name Ostracism. 



62 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap.V 

ten da}'s; if less than 6000 votes were cast, nothing 
was done. 

Sparta seeks to overthrow the Athenian Democracy. — The 
aristocratical party, enragecf at these reforms, called 
in the assistance of Cleomenes, king of the Lacedae- 
monians. Athens was menaced by foreign enemies 
and distracted by party struggles. Clisthenes was 
at tirst compelled to retire from Athens ; but the 
people rose in arms against Cleomenes, expelled the 
Lacedaemonians, who had taken possession of the city, 
and recalled Clisthenes. Thereupon Cleomenes col- 
lected a Peloponnesian army in order to revenge him- 
self upon the Athenians and to establish Isagoras as 
a tyrant over the city; at the same time he concerted 
measures with the Thebans and the Chalcidians of 
Euboea for a simultaneous attack upon Attica. The 
Peloponnesian army, commanded by the two kings, 
Cleomenes and Demaratus, entered Attica, and ad- 
vanced as far as Eleusis ; but when the allies became 
aware of the object for which they had been sum- 
moned, they refused to march farther, and strongly 
protested against the attempt to establish a tyranny 
at Athens. Their remonstrances being seconded by 
Demaratus, Cleomenes found it necessary to abandon 
the expedition and return home. At a later period 
(491 b.c.) Cleomenes took revenge upon Demaratus 
by persuading the Spartans to depose him upon the 
ground of illegitimacy. The exiled king took refuge 
at the Persian court. 

The unexpected retreat of the Peloponnesian army 
delivered the Athenians from their most formidable 
enemy, and they lost no time in turning their arms 
against their other foes. Marching into Boeotia, they 
defeated the Thebans, and then crossed over into 



B.C. 506 CLEOMEXES BAFFLED 63 

Eubcea, where they gained a decisive victory over the 
Chalcidians. In order to secure their dominion in Eu- 
bcea, and at the same time to provide for their poorer 
citizens, the Athenians distributed the estates of the 
wealthy Chalcidian land-owners among 4000 of their 
citizens, who settled in the country under the name 
of Cleruchi. 

The successes of Athens excited the jealousy of the 
Spartans, and they now resolved to make a third at- 
tempt to overthrow the Athenian democracy. They 
had meantime discovered the deception which had 
been practised upon them by the Delphic oracle ; and 
they invited Hippias to come from Sigeum to Sparta, in 
order to restore him to Athens. The experience of the 
last campaign had taught them that they could not 
calculate upon the co-operation of their allies without 
first obtaining their approval of the project ; and they 
therefore summoned deputies from all their allies to 
meet at Sparta, in order to determine respecting the 
restoration of Hippias. But the proposal was re- 
ceived with universal repugnance ; and the Spartans 
found it necessary to abandon their project. Hippias 
returned to Sigeum, and afterwards proceeded to the 
court of Darius. 

Athens had now entered upon her glorious career. 
The institutions of Clisthenes had given her citizens 
a personal interest in the welfare and the grandeur of 
their country. A spirit of the warmest patriotism 
rapidly sprang up among them ; and the history of 
the Persian wars, which followed almost immediate- 
ly, exhibits a striking proof of the heroic sacrifices 
which they were prepared to make for the liberty and 
independence of their state. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE GREEK COLONIES 

Origin and Distribution of the Greek Colonies The vast 

number of the Greek colonies, their wide diffusion 
over all parts of the Mediterranean, which thus be- 
came a kind of Grecian lake, and their rapid growth 
in wealth, power, and intelligence, afford the most 
striking proofs of the greatness of this wonderful 
people. Civil dissensions, a redundant population, 
and the desire to establish new commercial stations 
were the chief causes of the origin of most of the 
Greek colonies. They were usually undertaken with 
the approbation of the cities from which they is- 
sued, and under the management of a leader or lead- 
ers appointed by them. But a Greek colony was 
always considered politically independent of the moth- 
er-city and emancipated from its control. The only 
connection between them was one of filial affection 
and of common religious ties. Almost every colonial 
Greek city was built upon the sea-coast, and the site 
usually selected contained a hill sufficiently lofty to 
form an acropolis. 

The Grecian colonies may be arranged in four groups : 
1. Those founded in Asia Minor and the adjoining isl- 
ands; 2. Those in the western parts of the Mediterra- 
nean, in Italy, Sicily, Gaul, and Spain; 3. Those in 
Africa; 4. Those in Epirus, Macedonia, and Thrace. 



Chap. V 



COLONIES IN ASIA MINOR 



65 



Colonies in Asia Minor and the Adjacent Islands. — The 

earliest Greek colonies were those founded on the 
western shores of Asia Minor. They were divided 
into three great masses, each bearing the name of that 




MAP OF THE CHIEF GREEK COLONIES IN ASIA MINOR 



66 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VI 

section of the Greek race with which they claimed 
affinity. The ^Eolic cities covered the northern part 
of the coast, together with the islands of Lesbos and 
Tenedos ; the Ionians occupied the centre, with the 
islands of Chios and Samos ; and the Dorians the 
southern portion, with the islands of Rhodes and Cos. 
Most of these colonies were founded in consequence 
of the changes in the population of Greece which at- 
tended the conquest of Peloponnesus by the Dorians. 
The Ionic cities were early distinguished by a spirit 
of commercial enterprise, and soon rose superior in 
wealth and in power to their ^Eolian and Dorian 
neighbors. Among the Ionic cities themselves Mile- 
tus and Ephesus were the most flourishing. Grecian 
literature took its rise in the iEolic and Ionic cities of 
Asia Minor. Ionia was the fountain-head of epic 
poetry. Lyric poetry flourished in the island of Les- 
bos, where Sappho and Alcaeus were born. The Ionic 
cities were also the seats of the earliest schools of 
Grecian philosophy. Thales, who founded the Ionic 
school of philosophy, was a native of Miletus. Hali- 
carnassus was one of the most important of the Doric 
cities, of which Herodotus was a native, though he 
wrote in the Ionic dialect. 

Colonies in the Western Mediterranean. — The earliest 
Grecian settlement in Italy was Cumse in Campania, 
situated near Cape Misenum, on the Tyrrhenian Sea. 
It is said to have been a joint colony from the iEolic 
Cyme in Asia and from Chalcis in Euboea, and to 
have been founded in the 11th century b.c. Cumae 
was for a long time the most flourishing city in Cam- 
pania; and it was not till its decline in the 5th cen- 
tury before the Christian era that Capua rose into 
importance. 



B.C. 734 



COLONIES IN SICILY 



67 



The earliest Grecian settlement in Sicily was found- 
ed in 735 B.C. The extraordinary fertility of the 
land soon attracted numerous colonists from various 
parts of Greece, and there arose on the coasts a suc- 
cession of flourishing cities. Of these, Syracuse and 
Agrigentum, both Dorian colonies, became the most 




MAP OF THE CHIEF GREEK COLONIES IN SICILY 

powerful. The former was founded by the Corin- 
thians in 734 B.C., and at the time of its greatest pros- 
perity contained a population of 500,000, and was sur- 
rounded by walls more than twenty miles in circuit. 

The Grecian colonies in southern Italy began to be 
planted at nearly the same time as in Sicily. They 
eventually lined the southern coast, as far as Cumse 
on the one sea and Tarentum on the other; and be- 
came so numerous and flourishing, that the south of 
Italy was called Magna Graecia. Of these, two of the 



68 



HISTORY OF GREECE 



Chap. VI 



earliest and most prosperous were Sybaris and Croton, 
both of Achaean origin and situated upon the Gulf of 
Tarentum. Sybaris was planted in 720 B.C., and Cro- 
ton in 710 b.c. For two centuries they seem to have 
lived in harmonv, and we know little of their his- 
tory till their fatal contest in 510 b.c, which ended 
in the ruin of Sybaris. During the whole of this 




MAP OF TIIE CHIEF GREEK COLONIES IN SOUTHERN ITALY 



B.C. 6S3 COLONIES IN SOUTHERN ITALY 69 

period they were two of the most flourishing cities 
in the Greek world. Sybaris in particular attained to 
an extraordinary degree of wealth, and its inhabitants 
were so notorious for their luxury, effeminacy, and de- 
bauchery, that their name has become proverbial for 
voluptuaries in ancient and modern times. Croton 
was the chief seat of the Pythagorean philosophy. 
Pythagoras was a native of Samos, but emigrated to 
Croton, where he met with the most wonderful suc- 
cess in the propagation of his views. He established 
a kind of religious brotherhood, closely united by a 
sacred vow. They believed in the transmigration of 
souls, and their whole training was designed to make 
them temperate and self-denying. The doctrines of 
Pythagoras spread through many of the other cities 
of Magna Gnecia. 

Of the numerous other Greek settlements in the 
south of Italy those of Locri, Rhegium, Tarentum, 
and Metapontum are the most important. Locri was 
founded by the Locrians from the mother-country in 
683 B.C. The laws of this city were drawn up by one 
of its citizens, named Zaleucus, who, in order to guard 
against any change in them, provided that whoever 
proposed a new law must appear in the public as- 
sembly with a rope round his neck, which was imme- 
diately tightened if he failed to convince his fellow- 
citizens of the necessity of the alteration. Rhegium, 
situated on the Strait of Messina, opposite Sicily, was 
colonized by the Chalcidians, but received a large 
body of Messenians, who settled here at the close of 
the Messenian war. Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegium 
about 500 b.c, was of Messenian descent. He seized 
the Sicilian Zancle, on the opposite coast, and changed 
its name into Messana. Tarentum was a colony from 



70 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VI 

Sparta, and was founded shortly before 700 b.c. 
After the destruction of Sybaris it Avas the most 
powerful and flourishing city in Magna Gnecia, and 
continued to enjoy great prosperity till its subjuga- 
tion by the Romans. Although of Spartan origin, it 
did not maintain Spartan habits, and its citizens were 
noted at a later time for their love of luxury and 
pleasure. Metapontum was colonized from Achaia 
at the instance of the Sybarites, who feared that their 
rival, Tarentum, might gain possession of the fertile 
lands lying along the coast between the two cities. 
Its agricultural interests gave to the new colony 
a considerable degree of prosperity and promi- 
nence. 

The Grecian settlements in the distant countries of 
Gaul and Spain were not numerous. The most cele- 
brated was Massalia, the modern Marseilles, founded 
by the Ionic Phocaeans in 600 b.c. 

Colonies in Africa. — The northern coast of Africa, 
between the territories of Carthage and Egypt, was 
also occupied by Greek colonists. The important 
city of Cyrene was founded about 630 b.c. It was 
a colony from the island of Thera, in the ^Egean, 
which was itself a colony from Sparta. The situa- 
tion of Cvrene was well chosen. It stood on the 
edge of a range of hills, at the distance of ten miles 
from the Mediterranean, of which it commanded a 
fine view. These hills descended by a succession of 
terraces to the port of the town, called Apollonia. 
The climate was most salubrious, and the soil was 
distinguished by extraordinary fertility. With these 
advantages Cyrene rapidly grew in wealth and pow- 
er; and its greatness is attested by the immense re- 
mains which still mark its desolate site. Cyrene 



B.C. 700 COLONIES IN EPIRUS AND MACEDONIA 71 

planted several colonies in the adjoining district, of 
which Barca, founded about 560 B.C., was the most 
important. 

Colonies in Epirus, Macedonia, and Thrace. — There were 
several Grecian colonies situated on the eastern side 
of the Ionian Sea, in Epirus and its immediate neigh- 
borhood. Of these the island of Corcyra, now called 
Corfu, was the most wealthy and powerful. It was 
first settled by Eretrians, who were, however, driven 
out by colonists sent from Corinth about 700 b.c. In 
consequence of its commercial activity it soon became 
a formidable rival to the mother-city. Hence a war 
broke out between these two states at an early period, 
and the most ancient naval battle on record was the 
one fought between their fleets in 664 b.c. The dis- 
sensions between the mother-city and her colony are 
frequently mentioned in Grecian history, and were 
one of the immediate causes of the Peloponnesian 
war. Notwithstanding their quarrels, they joined in 
planting three Grecian colonies upon the same line of 
coast — Anactorium, Apollonia, and Epidamnus. 

The colonies in Macedonia and Thrace were very 
numerous, and extended all along the coast of the 
iEgean, of the Hellespont, of the Propontis, and of 
the Euxine, from the borders of Thessaly to the 
mouth of the Danube. Of these we can only glance 
at the most important. The colonies on the coast of 
Macedonia were chiefly founded by Chalcis and Ere- 
tria in Eubcea; and the peninsula of Chalcidice, with 
its three projecting headlands, was covered with their 
settlements, and derived its name from the former 
city. The Corinthians also visited this coast, and 
founded the important city of Potidsea, on the nar- 
row isthmus of Pallene. 



72 



HISTORY OF GREECE 



Chap. VI 



Of the colonies in Thrace the most flourishing 
were Perinthus, a Samian settlement, and Selymbria 
and Byzantium, both founded by the Megarians, who 
appear as an enterprising maritime people at an early- 
period. 




EAGLES AND HARE 

Coin of Agrigentum 



CHAPTER VII 

THE PERSIAN WARS. FROM THE IONIAN REVOLT TO 

THE BATTLE OF MARATHON, 499-490 B.C. 

Crcesus subdues the Greek Cities of Asia Minor. — The 

Grecian cities on the coast of Asia Minor were the 
neighbors of an Asiatic power which finally reduced 
them to subjection. This was the kingdom of Lvdia, 
of which Sard is Avas the capital. Croesus, the last 
and most powerful of the Lydian kings, who as- 
cended the throne 560 B.C., conquered in succession 
all the Grecian cities on the coast. His rule, how- 
ever, was not oppressive, and he permitted the cities 
to regulate their own affairs. He spoke the Greek 
language, welcomed Greek guests, and reverenced 
the Greek oracles, which he enriched with the most 
munificent offerings. He extended his dominions in 
Asia Minor as far as the River Halys, and was in close 
alliance with Astyages, king of the Medes, who were 
then the ruling race in Asia. Eveiything seemed to 
betoken uninterrupted prosperity, when a people hith- 
erto almost unknown suddenly became masters of the 
whole of western Asia. 

The Lydian Monarchy overthrown by Cyrus (546 B.C.). — 
The Persians were of the same race as the Medes, and 
spoke a dialect of the same language. They inhab- 
ited the mountainous region south of Media, which 
slopes gradually down to the coast of the Persian Gulf. 



74 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VII 

While the Medes became enervated by the cor- 
rupting influences to which they were exposed, the 
Persians preserved in their native mountains their 
simple and warlike habits. They were a brave and 
hardy nation, clothed in skins, and ignorant of the 
commonest luxuries of life. Cyrus led these fierce 
warriors from their mountain fastnesses, defeated the 
Medes in battle, took Astyages prisoner, and deprived 
him of his throne. The other nations included in 
the Median empire submitted to the conqueror, and 
the sovereignty of Upper Asia thus passed from the 
Medes to the Persians. The accession of Cyrus to 
the empire is placed in 559 b.c. A few years after- 
wards Cyrus turned his arms against the Lydians, 
took Sardis, and deprived Croesus of his throne (546 
B.C.). The fall of Croesus was followed by the sub- 
jection of the Greek cities in Asia to the Persian 
yoke. They offered a brave but ineffectual resist- 
ance, and were taken one after the other by Harpagus, 
the Persian general. Even the islands of Lesbos and 
Chios sent in their submission to Harpagus, although 
the Persians then possessed no fleet to force them to 
obedience. Samos, on the other hand, maintained its 
independence, and appears soon afterwards as one of 
the most powerful of the Grecian states. 

The Reign of Cambyses (529-522 B.C.) : Polycrates of Sa- 
mos. — During the reign of Cambyses, the son and suc- 
cessor of Cyrus, the Greek cities of Asia remained 
obedient to their Persian governors. It was during 
this reign that Polycrates, tyrant of Samos, became 
the master of the Grecian seas. The ambition and 
good-fortune of this enterprising tyrant were alike 
remarkable. He possessed a hundred ships of war, 
with which he conquered several of the islands ; 



B.C. 522 POLYCRATES OF SAMOS 75 

and he aspired to nothing less than the dominion of 
Ionia, as well as of the islands in the JEge&n. The 
Lacedaemonians, who had invaded the island at the 
invitation of the Samian exiles, for the purpose of 
overthrowing his government, were obliged to retire, 
after besieging his city in vain for forty days. Every- 
thing which he undertook seemed to prosper ; but 
his uninterrupted good-fortune at length excited the 
alarm of his ally Amasis, the king of Egypt. Ac- 
cording to the tale related by Herodotus, the Egyp- 
tian king, convinced that such amazing good-fortune 
would sooner or later incur the envy of the gods, 
wrote to Polycrates, advising him to throw away 
one of his most valuable possessions, and thus inflict 
some injury upon himself. Thinking the advice to be 
good, Polycrates threw into the sea a favorite ring 
of matchless price and beauty ; but, unfortunately, 
it was found a few days afterwards in the belly of a 
fine fish which a fisherman had sent him as a present. 
Amasis now foresaw that the ruin of Polycrates was 
inevitable, and sent a herald to Samos to renounce his 
alliance. The gloomy anticipations of the Egyptian 
monarch proved well founded. In the midst of all 
his prosperity Polycrates fell in a most ignominious 
manner. Oroetes, the satrap of Sardis, prompted ei- 
ther by ambition or by personal enmity, allured him 
to the mainland, where he was immediately arrested 
and hanged upon a cross (522 B.C.). 

The Reign of Darius : Invasion of Scythia (5 1 3 B.C.).— The 
reign of Darius, the third king of Persia (521-486 B.C.), 
is memorable in Grecian history. In his invasion 
of Scythia (513 B.C.) his fleet, which was furnished 
by the Asiatic Greeks, was ordered to sail up the 
Danube and throw a bridge of boats across the river. 



76 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VII 

The king himself, with his land-forces, marched 
through Thrace ; and, crossing the bridge, placed it 
under the care of the Greeks, telling them that, if he 
did not return within sixty days, they might break it 
down and sail home. He then left them, and pene- 
trated into the Scythian territory. The sixty days 
had already passed away when the Greeks were aston- 
ished by the appearance, not of the Persian army, but 
of a body of Scythians, who informed them that Da- 
rius was in full retreat, pursued by the whole Scythian 
nation, and that his only hope of safety depended 
upon that bridge. They urged the Greeks to seize 
this opportunity of destroying the Persian army, and 
of recovering their own liberty, by breaking down 
the bridge. Their exhortations were warmly seconded 
by the Athenian Miltiades, the tyrant of the Thracian 
Chersonesus, and the future conqueror of Marathon. 
The other rulers of the Ionian cities were at first dis- 
posed to follow his suggestion ; but as soon as His- 
tissus of Miletus reminded them that their sovereignty 
depended upon the support of the Persian king, and 
that his ruin would involve their own, they changed 
their minds and resolved to await the Persians. Da- 
rius and his army at length reached the Danube and 
crossed the bridge in safety. Thus the selfishness of 
these Grecian despots threw away the most favorable 
opportunity that ever presented itself of delivering 
their native cities from the Persian yoke. To reward 
the services of Histiseus, Darius gave him the terri- 
tory of Myrcinus, near the river Strymon. Darius, on 
his return to Asia, left Megabazus in Europe with an 
army of 80,000 men to complete the subjugation of 
Thrace and of the Greek cities upon the Hellespont. 
Megabazus not only subdued the Thracians, but pene- 



B.C. 500 THE REVOLUTION IN NAXOS 77 

trated into Paeonia as far as the Strymon, and reduced 
many tribes of the Paeonians to submission. He then 
sent heralds into Macedonia to demand earth and 
water, the customary symbols of submission. King 
Amyntas was ready to accede to the demand ; but 
the insolence of the Persian messengers so angered 
Alexander, the monarch's son, that, enlisting the aid 
of a few friends, he entrapped and killed them. So 
this mission resulted unsuccessfully. Megabazus, on 
his return to Sardis, where Darius awaited him, in- 
formed the Persian monarch that Histiaeus might be- 
come a source of trouble to him, since Myrcinus was 
a region rich in ship-timber and silver-mines. Darius, 
perceiving that the apprehensions of his general were 
not without foundation, summoned Histiaeus to his 
presence, and, under the pretext that he could not 
bear to be deprived of the company of his friend, 
carried him with the rest of the court to Susa. This 
apparently trivial circumstance was attended with im- 
portant consequences to the Persian empire and to 
the whole Grecian race. Megabazus was succeeded 
by Otanes, who reduced a few Greek cities in the 
neighborhood of the Hellespont, and the islands of 
Lemnos and Imbros. 

The Ionian Revolt (499 B.C.). — For the next few years 
everything remained quiet in the Greek cities of 
Asia ; but in 500 B.C. a revolution in Naxos, one of 
the islands in the JEgean Sea, first disturbed the gen- 
eral repose, and occasioned the war between Greece 
and Asia. The aristocratical exiles, who had been 
driven out of Naxos by a rising of the people, applied 
for aid to Aristagoras, the tyrant of Miletus and the 
son-in-law of Histiaeus. Aristagoras readily prom- 
ised them his assistance, knowing that, if they were 



78 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VII 

restored by his means, he would become master 
of the island. He obtained the co-operation of 
Artaphernes, the satrap of western Asia, by hold- 
ing out to him the prospect of annexing not only 
Naxos, but all the islands of the iEgean Sea, to the 
Persian empire. He offered at the same time to 
defray the expenses of the armament. Artaphernes 
placed at his disposal a fleet of 200 ships, under the 
command of Megabates, a Persian of high rank ; but 
Aristagoras having affronted the Persian admiral, the 
latter revenged himself by privately informing the 
Naxians of the object of the expedition, which had 
hitherto been kept a secret. When the Persian fleet 
reached Naxos they experienced a vigorous resistance ; 
and at the end of four months they were compelled 
to abandon the enterprise and return to Miletus. 
Aristagoras was now threatened with utter ruin. Hav- 
ing deceived Artaphernes, and incurred the enmity of 
Megabates, he could expect no favor from the Persian 
government, and might be called upon at any moment 
to defray the expenses of the armament. In these 
difficulties he began to think of exciting a revolt of 
his countrymen ; and while revolving the project he 
received a message from his father-in-law, Histiaeus, 
urging him to this very step. Afraid of trusting any 
one with so dangerous a message, Histiaeus had shaved 
the head of a trusty slave, branded upon it the necessary 
words, and as soon as the hair had grown again sent 
him off to Miletus. His only motive for urging the 
Ionians to revolt was the desire of escaping from cap- 
tivity at Susa; for he thought that Darius would set 
him at liberty in order to put down an insurrection 
of his countrymen. The message from Histioeus fixed 
the wavering resolution of Aristagoras. He forth- 



B.C. 499 THE IONIAN REVOLT 79 

with called together his partisans in Miletus, laid 
before them the project of revolt, and asked them for 
advice. Thej r all approved of the scheme with the 
exception of Heeatseus, one of the earliest Greek 
historians. Aristagoras laid down the supreme power 
in Miletus, and nominally resigned to the people the 
management of their own affairs. A democratical 
form of government was established in the other 
Greek cities of Asia, which thereupon openly re- 
volted from Persia (499 B.C.). 

The Athenians and Eretrians assist the lonians: Burning 
of Sardis (498 B.C.). — Aristagoras now resolved to cross 
over to Greece, in order to solicit assistance. The 
Spartans, to whom he first applied, refused to take any 
part in the war ; but at Athens he met with a very dif- 
ferent reception. The Athenians sympathized with 
the lonians as their kinsmen and colonists, and were in- 
censed against the satrap Artaphernes, who had re- 
cently commanded them to recall Hippias. Accord- 
ingly, they voted to send a squadron of twenty ships 
to the assistance of the lonians ; and in the following 
year (498 b.c.) this fleet, accompanied by five ships 
from Eretria in Euboea, crossed the ^Egean. The 
troops landed at Ephesus, and, being reinforced by a 
strong body of lonians, marched upon Sardis. Arta- 
phernes was taken unprepared ; and not having suffi- 
cient troops toman the walls, he retired into the citadel, 
leaving the town a prey to the invaders. Accord- 
ingly, they entered it unopposed ; and while engaged 
in pillage one of the soldiers set fire to a house. As 
most of the houses were built of wicker-work and 
thatched with straw, the flames rapidly spread, and 
in a short time the whole city was in flames. The 
Greeks, on their return to the coast, were overtaken 



80 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VII 

by a large Persian force and defeated with great 
slaughter. The Athenians hastened on board their 
ships and sailed home. 

Progress of the Ionian Revolt When Darius heard 

of the burning of Sardis he burst into a paroxysm 
of rage. It was against the obscure strangers who 
had dared to burn one of his capitals that his wrath 
was chiefly directed. " The Athenians I" he ex- 
claimed, " who are they?" Upon being informed 
he took his bow and shot an arrow high into the 
air, saying, " Grant me, O Zeus, to take vengeance 
upon the Athenians !" And he charged one of his 
attendants to remind him thrice every day at din- 
ner, " Sire, remember the Athenians." Meantime the 
insurrection spread to the Greek cities in Caria 
and Cyprus, as well as to those on the Hellespont 
and the Propontis, and seemed to promise perma- 
nent independence to the Asiatic Greeks; but they 
were no match for the whole power of the Persian 
empire, which was soon brought against them. Cyprus 
was subdued, and siege laid to the cities upon the 
coast of Asia. Aristagoras now began to despair, and 
basely deserted his countrymen, whom he had led 
into peril. Collecting a large body of Milesians, he 
set sail for the Thracian coast, where he was slain 
under the walls of a town to which he had laid 
siege. Soon after his departure his father-in-law, 
Histiaeus, came down to the coast. The artful Greek 
not only succeeded in removing the suspicions which 
Darius first entertained respecting him, but he per- 
suaded the king to send him into Ionia, in order to 
assist the Persian generals in suppressing the rebel- 
lion. Artaphernes, however, was not so easily de- 
ceived as his master, and plainly accused Histiaeus of 



B.C. 494 THE CAPTURE OF MILETUS 81 

treachery when the latter arrived at Sardis. " I will 
tell you how the facts stand," said Artaphernes to 
Histiseus ; " it was you who made the shoe, and Aris- 
tagoras put it on." Finding himself unsafe at Sardis, 
Histiaeus escaped to the island of Chios ; but he was 
regarded with suspicion by all parties. At length 
he obtained eight galleys from Lesbos, with which 
he sailed to Byzantium, and carried on piracies as 
well against the Grecian as the barbarian vessels. 
This unprincipled adventurer met with a traitor's 
death. Having landed on the coast of Mysia, he was 
surprised by a Persian force and made prisoner. Be- 
ing carried to Sardis, Artaphernes at once caused him 
to be crucified, and sent his head to Darius, who or- 
dered it to be honorably buried, condemning the igno- 
minious execution of the man who had once saved 
the life of the Great King. 

The Capture of Miletus (494 B.C.) and Subjugation of Ionia. 
— In the third year of the revolt (497 B.C.), when sev- 
eral Grecian cities had already been taken, the Per- 
sian generals united their separate commands for an 
attack upon Miletus. Representatives from all the 
Ionian cities met in council and decided not to op- 
pose the Persians by land, but to gather as large a 
fleet as possible. Even on the water, however, they 
were outnumbered, and a naval engagement which 
took place at Lade, a small island off Miletus, decided 
the fate of the war. The Samians deserted at the 
commencement of the battle, and the Ionian fleet was 
completely defeated. Miletus was taken after a siege 
of three years (494 B.C.), and was treated with signal 
severity. Most of the males were slain, and the few 
who escaped the sword, together with the women and 
children, were settled as unwilling colonists in the 

6 



82 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VII 

valley of the Tigris. The other Greek cities in Asia 
and the neighboring islands were treated with the 
same cruelty. The islands of Chios, Lesbos, and 
Tenedos were swept of their inhabitants, and the Per- 
sian fleet sailed up to the Hellespont and Propontis, 
carrying fire and sword. The Athenian Miltiades 
only escaped falling into the power of the Persians 
by flight to Athens. 

The subjugation of Ionia was now complete. This 
was the third time that the Asiatic Greeks had been 
conquered by a foreign power : first by the Lydian 
Croesus ; secondly by the generals of Cyrus ; and lastly 
by those of Darius. It was from the last that they 
suffered most, and they never fully recovered their 
former prosperity. 

War between Sparta and Argos: its Results. — While 
the Milesians were defending their citv against the 
Persians, Sparta and Argos were again at war with 
each other. The Spartans under Cleomenes, Athens' 
ancient enemy, took the offensive. Landing on the 
coast of Argos they surprised the Argive army, and 
won a decisive victory. The survivors on the de- 
feated side fled for refuge to a sacred grove, which 
was thereupon surrounded by the Spartans. The 
grove was then set on fire at Cleomenes' orders, 
and the Argives either perished in the flames or 
were cut down as they tried to escape. One result 
of this barbarous act of Cleomenes was to be felt in 
the time of the Persian invasion of Greece ; for the 
Argives, out of hatred and fear of the Spartans, re- 
fused to join the alliance of the other Greek states. 

The Expedition of Mardonius (492 b.c). — Having re- 
duced the Ionian insurrection, Darius was at liberty to 
take vengeance upon the Athenians. He selected Mar- 



B.C. 490 EXPEDITION OF DATIS AND ARTAPHERXES 83 

donius, his son-in-law, as general, and placed under 
his command a large armament, with injunctions to 
bring to Susa those Athenians and Eretrians who had 
insulted the authority of the Great King. Mar- 
donius, after crossing the Hellespont, commenced 
his march through Thrace and Macedonia, subdu- 
ing, as he went along, the tribes which had not yet 
submitted to the Persian power. He ordered the 
fleet to double the promontory of Mount Athos, and 
join the land-forces at the head of the Gulf of 
Therrna; but one of the hurricanes which frequently 
blow off this dangerous coast overtook the Persian 
fleet, destroyed 300 vessels, and drowned or dashed 
upon the rocks 20,000 men. Meantime the land- 
forces of Mardonius had suffered so much from an 
attack made upon them by a Thracian tribe that he 
could not proceed farther. He led his army back 
across the Hellespont, and returned to the Persian 
court covered with shame and grief (492 B.C.). 

The Expedition of Datis and Artaphernes: Fall of Eretria 
(490 B.C.). — The failure of this expedition did not shake 
the resolution of Darius. He began to make prepara- 
tions for another attempt on a still larger scale, and 
meantime sent heralds to most of the Grecian states 
to demand from each earth and water as the symbols 
of submission. Such terror had the Persians inspired 
by their recent conquest of Ionia that a large num- 
ber of the Grecian cities at once complied with the 
demand. 

In the spring of 490 b.c. a large army and fleet 
were assembled in Cilicia, and the command was 
given to Datis, a Median, and Artaphernes, son of 
the satrap of Sardis of that name. Warned by the 
recent disaster of Mardonius in doubling the promon- 



84 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VII 

tory of Mount Athos, they resolved to sail straight 
across the iEgean to Eubcea, subduing on their way 
the Cyclades. These islands yielded a ready submis- 
sion, and it was not till Datis and Artaphernes 
reached Euboea that they encountered any resistance. 
Eretria defended itself gallantly for six days, and re- 
pulsed the Persians with loss; but on the seventh the 
gates were opened to the besiegers by the treachery of 
two of its leading citizens. The city was burned, and 
the inhabitants w T ere put in chains. From Eretria the 
Persians crossed over to Attica, and landed on the 
ever-memorable plain of Marathon, a spot which had 
been pointed out to them by the despot Hippias, who 
accompanied the army. 

The Battle of Marathon.— As soon as the news of the 
fall of Eretria reached Athens, a courier had been 
sent to Sparta to solicit assistance. This was prom- 
ised; but the superstition of the Spartans prevented 
them from setting out immediately, since it wanted 
a few days to the full moon, and it was contrary to 
their religious customs to commence a march during 
this interval. Meantime the Athenians had marched 
to Marathon, and were encamped on a hill overlook- 
ing the plain and commanding both the usual routes 
which led from Marathon to Athens. Here they were 
joined by unexpected reinforcements from the little 
town of Platsea, in Bceotia. Grateful to the Athe- 
nians for the aid which they had rendered them 
against the Thebans, the whole force of Plataea, 
amounting to 1000 heavy-armed men, marched to 
the assistance of their allies and joined them at 
Marathon. The Athenian army is said to have 
numbered only 9000 or 10,000 hoplites, or heavy- 
armed soldiers; there were no archers or cavalry, 



B.C. 490 THE BATTLE OF MARATHON 85 

and only some slaves as light-armed attendants. 
In the absence of trustworthy information from an- 
cient sources, the number of the Persian army has been 
variously estimated at from 60,000 to 100,000 men. 
The Athenians were commanded, according to the 
regular custom, by ten generals, one for each tribe, 
and by the Polemarch, or third archon, who down 
to this time continued to be a colleague of the gen- 
erals. Among these the most distinguished was Mil- 
tiades, who, though but lately a tyrant in the Cher- 
sonesus, had shown such energy and ability that the 
Athenians had elected him one of their generals upon 
the approach of the Persian fleet. 

While the army lay encamped at Marathon a coun- 
cil of war was held, and the ten generals were found 
to be divided in opinion. Five of them were opposed 
to an engagement, urging that they were hopelessly 
outnumbered by the Persians. Miltiades and the re- 
maining four contended that not a moment should be 
lost in fighting the Persians, not only in order to avail 
themselves of the present enthusiasm of the people, 
but still more to prevent treachery from spreading 
among their ranks. Callimachus, the Polemarch, 
yielded to the arguments of Miltiades, and gave his 
vote for the battle. The ten generals commanded the 
army in rotation, each for one day ; but those who had 
supported Miltiades now agreed to surrender to him 
their days of command. He is said, however, to have 
waited until his own appointed day came around be- 
fore makinor the attack. 

The plain of Marathon lies on the eastern coast of 
Attica, at a distance of about twentv-two miles from 
Athens. It is in the form of a crescent, the horns of 
which consist of two promontories running into the 



86 



HISTORY OF GREECE 



Chap. VII 



sea, and forming a semicircular bay. This plain is 
about six miles in length, and in its widest or central 
part about two in breadth. At either end close to 
the shore are marshes of considerable extent, the 
larger one almost shutting in the plain from the 




PLAN OF THE BATTLE-FIELD OF MARATHON 



northeast. The shortest road to Athens leaves the 
plain at its southwestern corner, ascending a gorge 
between rugged mountains. On the day of the bat- 
tle the Athenians were drawn up on the rising 
ground adjacent to the mouth of this gorge, which 
must of course be guarded. Their line probably 



B.C. 490 THE BATTLE OF MARATHON 87 

faced about east, the wings resting upon the hills on 
either side. The opposing line of the Persians ex- 
tended diagonally across the plain, its rear towards 
the shore and the great marsh. It was a part of 
Miltiades' plan to make his front equal in length to 
that of the Persians, in order to avoid being out- 
flanked. But with so small a body of men this object 
could not be accomplished without weakening some 
portion of the line. He therefore drew up the troops 
in the centre in shallow files, and resolved to rely 
for success upon the stronger and deeper masses of 
his w T ings. The right wing, which was the post of 
honor in a Grecian army, was commanded by the 
Polemarch Callimachus ; the hoplites were arranged 
in the order of their tribes, so that the members of 
the same tribe fought by one another's side, and at 
the extreme left stood the Plataeans. 

Miltiades, anxious to come to close quarters as 
speedily as possible, ordered his soldiers to advance 
at a running step upon the foe. Both the Athenian 
wings were successful, and drove the enemy before 
them towards the shore and the marshes. But the 
Athenian centre was broken by the Persians, and 
compelled to take to flight. Miltiades thereupon re- 
called his wings from pursuit, and charged the Per- 
sian centre. The latter could not withstand this 
combined attack. The rout now became general 
along the w T hole Persian line, and they fled to their 
ships, pursued by the Athenians. The Persians lost 
6400 men in this memorable engagement; of the 
Athenians only 192 fell, but included in this small 
number was the brave Polemarch Callimachus. 

The Athenians were not yet free from apprehension. 
The Persian army had been defeated but not de- 



88 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VII 

stroyed. It was still vastly stronger in numbers than 
any force which they could gather. Moreover, Hip- 
pias had many partisans in Athens who were ready 
to welcome him and the Persians. In fact, some of 
them are said to have raised a shield upon the summit 
of Mount Pentelicus after the battle as a signal to the 
Persians that a favorable opportunity had come for 
attacking the city. Accordingly, Datis and Arta- 
phernes directed the course of the fleet towards Ath- 
ens. But the Athenians under Miltiades by a forced 
march reached the city before them. The Persians 
lay for a while at anchor off Phalerum, and then 
sailed away to Asia. Their departure was hailed 
at Athens with heartfelt joy. Marathon became a 
magic word at Athens. The Athenian people in suc- 
ceeding ages always looked back upon this day as the 
most glorious in their annals, and never tired of hear- 
ing its praises sounded by their orators and poets. 
And they had reason to be proud of it. It was the 
first time that the Greeks had ever defeated the Per- 
sians in the field. It was the exploit of the Athenians 
alone. It had saved not only Athens, but all Greece. 
If the Persians had conquered at Marathon, Greece 
must, in all likelihood, have become a Persian province, 
the destinies of the world would have been changed, 
and Oriental despotism might still have brooded over 
the fairest countries of Europe. 

The 192 Athenians who had perished in the battle 
were buried on the field, and over their remains a 
tumulus or mound was erected, which may still be 
seen about half a mile from the sea. 

Miltiades' Expedition against Paros. — Shortly after the 
battle Miltiades requested of the Athenians a fleet 
of seventy ships, without telling them the object 



B.C. 490 THE FATE OF MILTIADES 89 

of his expedition, but only promising to enrich the 
state. Such unbounded confidence did the Athenians 
repose in the hero of Marathon that they at once 
complied with his demand. Miltiades sailed with 
his fleet to Paros and laid siege to the chief city 
of that island. Herodotus states that he undertook 
this expedition merely to gratify a private ani- 
mosity against one of the leading citizens of Paros ; 
it may be, however, that his motive was a patriotic 
rather than a selfish one. The Parians repelled all 
his attacks, and having received a dangerous injury 
on his thigh he was compelled to raise the siege 
and return to Athens. Loud was the indignation 
against Miltiades on his return. He was accused 
by Xanthippus, the father of Pericles, of having de- 
ceived the people, and was brought to trial. His 
wound had already begun to show symptoms of 
gangrene. He was carried into court on a couch, 
and there lay before the assembled judges, while his 
friends pleaded on his behalf. They offered no ex- 
cuse for his recent conduct; but they reminded the 
Athenians of the services he had rendered, and 
begged them to spare the victor of Marathon. The 
judges were not insensible to this appeal; and in- 
stead of condemning him to death, as the accuser 
had demanded, they commuted the penalty to a fine 
of fifty talents. Miltiades was unable immediately 
to raise this sum, and died soon afterwards of his 
wound. The fine was subsequently paid by his son 
Cimon. 

War between Athens and Aegina: Themistocles It was 

probably soon after the battle of Marathon that war 
broke out between Athens and iEgina. This war is 
of great importance in Grecian history, since to it the 



90 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VII 

Athenians were indebted for their navy, which enabled 
them to save Greece at Salamis as they had already 
done at Marathon. iE^ina was one of the chief mari- 
time powers in Greece ; and accordingly Themisto- 
cles urged the Athenians to build and equip a large 
and powerful fleet, without which it was impossible 
for them to humble their rival. There was at this 
time a large surplus in the public treasury, arising 
from the produce of the silver-mines at Laurium. It 
had been recently proposed to distribute this surplus 
among the Athenian citizens; but Themistocles per- 
suaded them to sacrifice their private advantage to 
the public good, and to appropriate this money to 
building a fleet of ships. 

Ostracism of Aristides (483 B.C.). — The two leading 
citizens of Athens at this period were Themistocles 
and Aristides. These two eminent men formed a 
striking contrast to each other. Themistocles pos- 
sessed abilities of the most extraordinary kind, but he 
has been generally regarded as wanting in honesty. 
Aristides was inferior' to Themistocles in ability, 
but was superior to him in honesty and integrity. 
His uprightness and justice were so universally 
acknowledged that he received the surname "of the 
" Just." Themistocles was the leader of the demo- 
cratical and Aristides of the conservative party at 
Athens. After several years of bitter rivalry the 
two chiefs appealed to the ostracism, and Aristides 
was banished (483 B.C.). We are told that an un- 
lettered countryman gave his vote against Aristides 
at the ostracism because he was tired of hearing him 
always called the Just. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE PERSIAN WARS. — THE BATTLES OF THERMOPYLAE, 
SALAMIS, AND PLAT.EA, 480-479 B.C. 

The Death of Darius (486 B.C.) : Xerxes, his Successor, 
prepares to subdue Greece. — The defeat of the Persians 
at Marathon served only to increase the resentment 
of Darius. He now resolved to collect the whole 
forces of his empire, and to lead them against Athens. 
For three years busy preparations were made through- 
out his vast dominions. In the fourth year his atten- 
tion was distracted by a revolt of the Egyptians ; 
and before he could reduce them to subjection he 
was surprised by death, after a reign of 36 years 
(486 b.c). Xerxes, the son and successor of Darius, 
had received the education of an Eastern despot, and 
been surrounded with slaves from his cradle. In per- 
son he was one of the tallest and handsomest men 
amidst the vast hosts which he led against Greece; 
but there was nothing in his mind to correspond to 
this fair exterior. His character was marked by faint- 
hearted timidity and childish vanity. Xerxes had not 
inherited his father's animosity against Greece ; but 
he at length resolved to continue the enterprise, being 
influenced largely by the arguments of Mardonius, 
who was eager to retrieve his reputation, and to ob- 
tain the conquered country as a satrapy for himself. 
After subduing Egypt (485 B.C.), Xerxes began to 



92 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. Y1II 

make preparations for the invasion of Greece. For 
four years the din of preparation sounded throughout 
Asia. Troops were collected from every quarter of 
the Persian empire, and were ordered to assemble in 
Cappadocia. As many as forty-six different nations 
of various complexions, languages, dresses, and arms 
composed the land force. Meantime Xerxes ordered 
a bridge to be thrown across the Hellespont, that his 
army might march from Asia into Europe ; and he 
likewise gave directions that a canal should be cut 
through the isthmus of Mount Athos, in order to avoid 
the necessity of doubling this dangerous promontory, 
where the fleet of Mardonius had suffered shipwreck. 
The making of this canal, which was about a mile and 
a half long, employed a large number of men for 
three years. 

The March of Xerxes. — It was in the autumn of 481 
b.c. that the Persian forces gathered in Cappadocia. 
Hence they marched to Sardis, where the winter of 
481-480 b.c. was spent. From Sardis Xerxes sent 
heralds to the various states of Greece to demand 
earth and water. Sparta and Athens were excepted, 
because the king neither expected nor desired their 
peaceful submission. UjDon them summary punish- 
ment was to be inflicted. 

In the spring of 480 b.c. Xerxes set out from Sar- 
dis with his vast host. Upon reaching Abydus, on 
the Hellespont, the army crossed over to Europe by 
the bridge of boats. Xerxes surveyed the scene from 
a marble throne. His heart swelled within him at 
the sight of such a vast assemblage of human beings; 
but his feelings of pride and pleasure soon gave way 
to sadness, and he burst into tears at the reflection 
that in a hundred years not one of them would be 



B.C. 480 THE MARCH OF XERXES 93 

alive. Xerxes continued his march through Europe 
along the coast of Thrace. Upon arriving at the spa- 
cious plain of Doriscus, which is traversed by the 
river Hebrus, he resolved to number his forces. He 
found, according to Herodotus, that the whole arma- 
ment, both military and naval, consisted of 2,317,610 
men. In his march from Doriscus to Thermopylae he 
received a still further accession of strength; and ac- 
cordingly, when he reached Thermopylae the land and 
sea forces amounted to 2,641,610 fighting men. The 
attendants are said to have been more in number 
than the fighting men ; but if they were only equal, 
the number of persons who accompanied Xerxes to 
Thermopylae reaches the astounding figure of 5,283,- 
220 ! This number, which rests upon the authority 
of Herodotus alone, is quite incredible ; but though 
the exact size of the invading army cannot be de- 
termined, we may safely conclude, from all the cir- 
cumstances of the case, that it was one of the largest 
ever assembled at any period of history. 

From Doriscus Xerxes continued his march along 
the coast through Thrace and Macedonia. The 
cities through which he passed had to furnish a day's 
meal for the immense host, and for this purpose had 
made preparations many months beforehand. The 
cost of feeding such a multitude brought many cities 
to the brink of ruin. At Acanthus his fleet sailed 
through the isthmus of Athos, and, after doubling the 
promontories of Sithonia and Pallene, joined him at 
the city of Therma, better known by its later name 
of Thessalonica. Thence he continued his march 
through Macedonia and Thessaly, meeting with no 
opposition till he reached the celebrated pass of Ther- 
mopylae. 



94 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VIII 

Preparations of the Greeks. — The mighty preparations 
of Xerxes had been no secret in Greece ; and during 
the preceding autumn a congress of the Grecian states 
had been summoned by the Spartans and Athenians 
to meet at the isthmus of Corinth. But so great was 
the terror inspired by the countless hosts of Xerxes 
that many of the Grecian states at once tendered their 
submission to him, and others refused to take any 
part in the congress. The only people of northern 
Greece who remained faithful to the cause of liberty 
were the Athenians and Phocians, and the inhabitants 
of the small Boeotian towns of Plataea and Thespiae. 
The other people in northern Greece were either par- 
tisans of the Persians, like the Thebans, or were un- 
willing to make any great sacrifices for the preser- 
vation of their independence. In Peloponnesus, the 
powerful city of Argos and the Achaean s stood aloof. 
From the more distant members of the Hellenic race 
no assistance was obtained. Gelon, the ruler of Syra- 
cuse, offered to send a powerful armament, provided 
the command of the allied forces was intrusted to 
him ; but the envoys did not venture to accept a pro- 
posal which would have placed both Sparta and Athens 
under the control of a Sicilian tyrant. 

The desertion of the cause of Grecian independence 
by so many of the Greeks did not shake the resolu- 
tion of Sparta and of Athens. The Athenians, espe- 
cially, set a noble example of an enlarged patriotism. 
They became reconciled to the iEginetans, and thus 
gained for the common cause the powerful navy of 
their rival. They granted to the Spartans the su- 
preme command of the forces by sea as well as by 
land, although they furnished more than half of 
the vessels of the entire fleet. Their illustrious citi- 



B.C. 480 



THE GREEKS AT THERMOPYLAE 



95 



zen Themistocles was the soul of the congress. He 
sought to enkindle.in the other Greeks some portion 
of the ardor and energy which he had succeeded in 
breathing into the Athenians. 

The Greeks at Tempe and at Thermopylae.— The Greeks 
determined to make a stand at the pass gf Tempe, in 
northeastern Thessaly. The usual route from Mace- 
donia to Thessaly lay through this pass, and the 
Greeks hoped by defending it to check the advance 



aC us Sinus 




PLAN OF THERMOPYLAE 



of the Persians. Accordingly a force of 10,000 hop- 
lites under the Spartan polemarch Euaenetus and the 
Athenian Themistocles was sent to Thessaly. The 
Greeks discovered, however, upon reaching Tempe, 
that there were two other roads leading from Mace- 
donia to Thessaly which the Persians might take. 
They could therefore attack the small Greek force 
both from front and rear and overwhelm it. On 
learning this the Greeks retreated southward, re- 



96 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VIII 

joined the fleet, which had been left lying at anchor 
in the Pagasaean Gulf, and sailed back to the isthmus 
of Corinth. Here a council of war was held, and it 
was resolved to defend the pass of Thermopylae, which 
formed the entrance from Thessaly into southern 
Greece. This pass lay between Mount Callidromus 
and the sea. It was about two miles in length. At 
each of its extremities the mountains approached so 
near the sea as to leave barely room for the pas- 
sage of a single carriage. The northern, or, to speak 
more properly, the western, entrance was close to the 
town of Anthela, where the Amphictyonic Council 
held its meetings ; while the southern, or the eastern, 
entrance was near the Locrian town of Alpeni. These 
narrow entrances were called Pylae, or the Gates. The 
space between the gates was wider and more open, 
and was distinguished by its hot springs, from which 
the pass derived the name of Thermopylae, or the " Hot 
Gates." The island of Euboea is here separated from 
the mainland by a narrow strait, which in one part 
is only two miles and a half in breadth ; and accord- 
ingly it was easy, by defending this part of the sea 
with a fleet, to prevent an enemy from landing troops 
at the southern end of the pass. 

The Grecian fleet, under the command of the Spar- 
tan Eurybiades, took up its station off that portion of 
the northern coast of Euboea which faces Magnesia 
and the entrance to the Pagasaean Gulf, and which 
was called Artemisium, from a neighboring temple 
of Artemis. It was, however, only a small land force 
that was sent to the defence of Thermopylae. When 
the arrival of Xerxes in Pieria became known, the 
Greeks were upon the point of celebrating the Olym- 
pic games, and the festival of the Carnean Apollo, 



B.C. 480 THE PERSIANS REACH THERMOPYLAE 97 

which was observed with great solemnity at Sparta 
and in other Doric states. The Peloponnesians there- 
fore sent forward only 300 Spartans and 2800 hoplites 
from other Peloponnesian states, under the command 
of the Spartan king Leonidas, a force which they 
thought would be sufficient to maintain the pass till 
the festivals were over. Such, at least, is the explana- 
tion given by Herodotus of the small size of the army 
which met the Persians at Thermopylae ; there can 
be no doubt, however, that the Spartans were not so 
much influenced by religious scruples as by a selfish 
feeling that their best policy was to leave northern 
Greece to its fate and devote their energies to the 
defence of Peloponnesus. In his march northwards 
Leonidas received additions from the Thespians, Pho- 
cians, and Locrians, so that he had under his com- 
mand at Thermopylae about 6000 men. This number 
does not include the Spartan helots (or perhaps Peri- 
oeci) who accompanied their masters, nor a force of 
400 Thebans whom Leonidas compelled to join his 
army, but who deserted to the Persians before the 
battle was over. The Athenians sent no troops to 
Thermopylae, because, in obedience to the advice of 
Themistocles, they had employed their whole availa- 
ble force to man the large fleet which they had equip- 
ped. They were therefore represented at Artemisium 
by 200 triremes, while all the other contingents to- 
gether numbered only 133 ships. 

The Persians reach Thermopylae. — Meanwhile Xerxes 
had arrived within sight of Thermopylae. He had 
heard that a handful of desperate men, commanded 
by a Spartan, had determined to dispute his passage, 
but he refused to believe the news. He was still 
more astonished when a horseman, whom he had sent 

7 



98 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VIII 

to reconnoitre, brought back word that he had seen 
several Spartans outside the wall in front of the pass, 
some amusing themselves with gymnastic exercises, 
and others combing their long hair. In great per- 
plexity, he sent for the exiled Spartan king Demara- 
tus, who had accompanied him from Persia, and asked 
him the meaning of such madness. Demaratus re- 
plied that the Spartans would defend the pass to the 
death, and that it was their practice to dress their 
heads with peculiar care when they were going to 
battle. Late writers relate that Xerxes sent to them 
to deliver up their arms. Leonidas desired him to 
"come and take them." One of the Spartans being 
told that the Persian host was so prodigious that their 
arrows concealed the sun, is said to have replied, " So 
much the better ; we shall then fight in the shade." 

The Battle of Thermopylae (August, 480 B.C.). —At 
length, upon the fifth day, Xerxes ordered a chosen 
body of Medes and Cissians to seize the presumptuous 
foes and bring them into his presence. But their 
superior numbers were of no avail in such a narrow 
space, and they were kept at bay by the long spears 
and steady ranks of the Greeks. After the combat 
had lasted a long time with heavy loss to the Medes, 
Xerxes ordered his ten thousand " Immortals," the 
flower of the Persian army, to advance. But they 
were as unsuccessful as the Medes. Xerxes beheld 
the repulse of his troops from a lofty throne which 
had been provided for him, and was seen to leap 
thrice from his seat in an agony of fear or rage. 

On the following day the attack was renewed, but 
with no better success ; and Xerxes was beginning to 
despair of forcing his way through the pass, when a 
Malian, of the name of Epialtes, betrayed to the Per- 



B.C. 480 



THE BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE 



99 



sian king that there was an unfrequented path across 
Mount Callidromus, ascending on the western side of 
the mountain, and descending on the eastern side near 
the termination of the pass. Overjoyed at this dis- 
covery, Xerxes ordered a strong detachment of Per- 



The ascent was begun in 



sians to follow the traitor, 
the early evening, and at 
daybreak the summit of 
the mountain had been 
reached. Here the Pho- 
cians were keeping guard, 
but they fled at sight 
of the enemy, thinking 
that the whole army of 
Xerxes was upon them. 
The Persians did not pur- 
sue them, but descended 
the other side of the 
mountain at full speed. 
Meantime Leonidas and 
his troops had received 
ample notice of the im- 
pending danger. During 
the night deserters from 
the enemy had brought 
him the news ; and their 
intelligence was con- 
firmed by his own scouts on the 
lution was at once taken. As a 
bound to conquer or to die in the post assigned to 
him ; and he was the more ready to sacrifice his 
life, since an oracle had declared that either Sparta 
itself or a Spartan king must perish by the Per- 
sian arms. His three hundred comrades were fully 




GREEK SOLDIER 



hills. His reso- 
Spartan he was 



100 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VIII 

equal to the heroism which actuated their king ; and 
the seven hundred Thespians resolved to share the 
fate of this gallant band. He allowed the rest of 
the allies to retire, with the exception of the four 
hundred Thebans whom he retained as hostages. 
Xerxes delayed his attack till about the middle of the 
day, when it was expected that the detachment sent 
across the mountain would arrive at the rear of the 
pass. But Leonidas and his comrades, only anxious to 
sell their lives as dearly as possible, did not wait to re- 
ceive the attack of the Persians, but advanced into 
the open space in front of the pass, and charged the 
enemy with desperate valor. Numbers of the Persians 
were slain ; many were driven into the neighboring 
sea; and others again were trampled to death by the 
vast hosts behind them. As long as the Greeks could 
maintain their ranks they repelled every attack ; but 
when their spears were broken, and they had only 
their swords left, the enemy began to press in be- 
tween them. Leonidas was one of the first that fell, 
and around his body the battle raged fiercer than 
ever. The Persians made the greatest efforts to ob- 
tain possession of it ; but four times they were 
driven back by the Greeks with great slaughter. At 
length, thinned in numbers, and exhausted by fatigue 
and wounds, this noble band retired within the pass, 
and stationed themselves on a hillock. Meanwhile the 
Persian detachment, which had been sent across the 
mountains, reached the scene of the action. The 
Spartan and Thespian heroes were now surrounded 
on every side, overwhelmed with a shower of mis- 
siles, and killed to a man. 

On the hillock, where the Greeks made their last 
stand, a stone lion was set up in honor of Leonidas. 



B.C. 480 NAVAL BATTLES AT ARTEMISIUM 101 

Another monument, erected near the spot, contained 
the memorable inscription : 

"Go tell the Spartans, thou that passest hy, 
That here obedient to their laws we lie." 

Naval Battles at Artemisium.— While Leonidas had 
been righting at Thermopylae, the Greek fleet had also 
been engaged with the Persians at Artemisium. The 
Persian fleet set sail from the Gulf of Therma, and 
arrived in a day at almost the southern corner of Mag- 
nesia. In this position they were overtaken b} r a sud- 
den hurricane, which blew upon the shore with irre- 
sistible fury. For three days and three nights the 
tempest raged without intermission ; and when calm 
at length returned, the shore was seen strewn for 
many miles with wrecks and corpses. At least four 
hundred ships of war were destroyed, together with a 
countless number of transports, stores, and treasures. 
The Greek fleet had been seized with terror at the 
approach of the Persians, and retreated to Chalcis, in 
the narrowest part of the Eubcean Straits ; but upon 
hearing of the disaster of the Persian fleet, they took 
courage and sailed back with the utmost speed to 
their former station at Artemisium. Being now en- 
couraged to attack the enemy, they gained some suc- 
cess. On the following night another terrific storm 
burst upon the Persians. All night long it blew upon 
the Thessalian coast at Aphetae, where the Persian ships 
were stationed, thus causing little inconvenience to 
the Greeks on the opposite shore. This storm saved 
the Greek fleet from imminent peril. A few days be- 
fore it is said that 200 Persian ships had been detailed 
to coast down the eastern side of Euboea, round the 
southern point, and then sail up the strait between 



102 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VIII 

the island and the mainland so as to attack the 
Greeks at Artemisium from the rear. This detach- 
ment was overtaken by the storm off the southwest- 
ern coast of Euboea and utterly destroyed. Next day 
the Greeks were reinforced by the arrival of more 
than fifty Athenian triremes and again took the of- 
fensive, attacking and destroying some Cilician ships. 
Notwithstanding these losses, the Persian fleet still had 
a vast superiority of numbers, and on the following 
day determined to offer battle to the Greeks. Quit- 
ting the Thessalian coast, they sailed towards Arte- 
misium in the form of a crescent. In the conflict 
which ensued both sides fought with great valor and 
both suffered severely. The Persians, indeed, lost a 
greater number of ships and men, yet so many of the 
Greek vessels were disabled that they found it would 
be impossible to renew the combat. Under these cir- 
cumstances, the Greek commanders saw that it would 
be necessary to retreat ; and their determination was 
hastened by the news which they now received, that 
Leonidas and his companions had fallen, and that 
Xerxes was master of the pass of Thermopylae. Hav- 
ing sailed through the Euboean Strait, the fleet doubled 
the promontory of Sunium, and did not stop till it 
reached the island of Salamis. 

The Occupation of Athens by the Persians.— Meanwhile 
the Peloponnesians had abandoned Attica and the ad- 
joining states to their fate, whilst they strained every 
nerve to secure themselves by fortifying the isthmus 
of Corinth. The Athenians, relying upon the pro- 
posed march of the Peloponnesian army into Boeotia, 
had taken no measures for the security of their fami- 
lies and property, and beheld with terror and dismay 
the barbarian host in full march towards their city. 



B.C. 480 ATHENS ABANDONED TO THE PERSIANS 



103 



Accordingly when the fleet reached Salamis a procla- 
mation was published, directing the Athenians to pro- 
vide as they best could for the safety of their children 
and families. Within a few days Athens was deserted 
by much the greater part of its inhabitants, some 
going to the island of Salamis, some to iEgina, and 
others to Trcezen in Argolis. It was necessary for 




PARNASSUS 



Themistocles to use all his art and all his eloquence 
on this occasion. The oracle at Delphi had told the 
Athenians that " the divine Salamis will make 
women childless" — yet "when all is lost, a wood- 
en wall shall still shelter the Athenians." Themis- 
tocles told his countrymen that these words clearly 
indicated a fleet and a naval victory as the only 
means of safety. Some, however, gave to the words 



104 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VIII 

another meaning ; and a few, especially amortg the 
poor, resolved to shut themselves up in the Acropolis, 
and to fortify its accessible or western front with 
barricades of timber. 

On his march towards Athens, Xerxes sent a de- 
tachment of his army to take and plunder Delphi. 
But this attempt proved unsuccessful. The god of 
the most renowned oracle of the Grecian world is 
said to have vindicated at once the majesty of his 
sanctuary and the truth of his predictions. It is re- 
lated that as the Persians climbed the rugged path at 
the foot of Mount Parnassus, leading up to the shrine, 
thunder was heard to roll, and two crags, suddenly 
detaching themselves from the mountain, rolled down 
upon the Persians and spread dismay and destruc- 
tion in their ranks. Seized with a sudden panic, they 
turned and fled, pursued, as they said, by two war- 
riors of superhuman size and prowess, who had as- 
sisted the Delphians in defending their temple. 

On arriving before Athens Xerxes found the Acrop- 
olis occupied by a handful of desperate citizens, who 
made a brave resistance ; but they were overpowered 
and put to the sword. The temples on the Acropolis 
were pillaged and burned ; and Xerxes thus became 
undisputed master of Athens. 

About the same time the Persian fleet arrived in 
the Bay of Phalerum. Its strength is not accurately 
known, but it may be reckoned at from 600 to 700 
vessels. The combined Grecian fleet at Salamis 
consisted of 380 triremes, of which 200 were Athe- 
nian. 

The Greek Commanders in Council at Salamis. — When 
the news of the capture of the Acropolis reached the 
Greeks at Salamis, it was at once decided that the 



B.C. 480 DISSEXSIOXS AMONG THE GREEKS 



105 



fleet should be removed to the isthmus of Corinth, 
and thus be put into communication with the land 
forces. Themistocles, however, prevailed upon Eu- 
rybiades, the Spartan admiral, to convene another 
assembly of the commanders. When the council 
met, Themistocles did not wait for the presiding 
officer, Eurybiades, to propose the subject for dis- 
cussion, but began to urge the Peloponnesian cora- 




PLAN OF THE BATTLE OF SALAMIS 



manders to remain at Salamis, and give battle to 
the Persians in the narrow strait, where the supe- 
rior numbers of the Persians would be of less con- 
sequence. Adimantus, the Corinthian commander, 
tried to interrupt him. " Themistocles," he exclaimed, 
"those who rise at the public games before the signal 



106 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VIII 

are whipped." "True," replied Themistocles ; "but 
they who lair behind it never win a crown." An- 
other incident in this discussion has been immortal- 
ized by Plutarch. Eurybiades, incensed by the lan- 
guage of Themistocles, lifted up his stick to strike 
him, whereupon the Athenian exclaimed, "Strike, but 
hear me !" At last, when it seemed likely that the 
council would not be influenced by his arguments 
and entreaties, Themistocles threatened that he and 
the Athenians would sail away to Italy and settle 
there if the Peloponnesians still determined to re- 
treat. Eurybiades now gave way, and issued orders 
for the fleet to remain and fight at Salamis ; but the 
Peloponnesians obeyed the order with reluctance. 
A third council was summoned ; and Themistocles, 
perceiving that the decision of the assembly would 
be against him, determined to effect his object by 
stratagem. He secretly despatched a trusty slave 
with a message to Xerxes, representing the dissen- 
sions which prevailed in the Grecian fleet, and how 
easy a matter it would be to surround and vanquish 
an armament both small and disunited. Xerxes 
readily adopted the suggestion, and ordered his 
captains to close up the straits of Salamis at both 
ends during the night. On the council assembling 
before daybreak, Aristides arrived with the news that 
the Grecian fleet was completely surrounded by that 
of the Persians, and that retreat was no longer possi- 
ble. As the veil of night rolled gradually away, the 
Persian fleet was discovered stretching as far as the 
eye could reach along the coast of Attica. The Gre- 
cian fleet, being concentrated in the harbor of Sala- 
mis, was thus surrounded by the Persians. Xerxes 
had caused a lofty throne to be erected upon one of 



B.C. 480 THE BATTLE OF SALAMIS 107 

the projecting declivities of Mount iEgaleos, oppo- 
site the harbor of Salamis, whence he could survey 
the combat, and stimulate by his presence the courage 
of his men. 

The Battle of Salamis (September, 480 B.C.).— As a 
battle was now inevitable, the Grecian commanders 
lost no time in making preparations for the encoun- 
ter. The Greek seamen embarked with alacrity, 
encouraging one another to deliver their country, 
their wives and children, and the temples of their 
gods from the grasp of the barbarians. History 
has preserved to us but few details of the engage- 
ment. The Persian fleet, with the exception of 
some of the Ionic contingents, fought with courage. 
But the very numbers on which they so confidently 
relied proved one of the chief causes of their defeat. 
Too crowded either to advance or to retreat, their 
oars broken or impeded by collision with one an- 
other, their fleet lay like an inert, lifeless mass upon 
the water, and fell an easy prey to the Greeks. A 
single incident will illustrate the terror and con- 
fusion which reisfned among: the Persians. Arte- 
misia, a Carian queen, who commanded a small con- 
tingent of Xerxes' fleet, found herself pursued by an 
Athenian galley. Full in her course lay the vessel 
of a Carian prince. Instead of avoiding, she struck 
and sunk it, sending her countryman and all his 
crew to the bottom. The captain of the Athenian 
galley, believing from this act that she was either 
a Greek or a deserter from the Persian cause, suf- 
fered her to escape. Xerxes, Avho from his lofty 
throne beheld the feat of Artemisia, but imagined 
that the sunken ship belonged to the Greeks, was 
filled with admiration at her courage, and ex- 



108 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VIII 

claimed, "My men are become women, my women 
men !" 

The Retreat of Xerxes.— At least two hundred of the 
Persian ships were destroyed or sunk, when night put 
an end to the engagement. But, notwithstanding 
this loss, the fleet was still formidable by its numbers. 
The Greeks themselves did not regard the victory as 
decisive, and prepared to renew the combat. But the 
faint-heartedness of Xerxes relieved them from all 
further anxiety. He became alarmed for his own 
personal safety, and his whole care was now centred 
on securing his retreat by land. Preparations were 
accordingly made for the march to Asia, and the fleet 
was ordered to the Hellespont to secure the bridge. 
These dispositions of Xerxes were prompted by Mar- 
donius. He represented to his master that the defeat, 
after all, was but slight ; that it was only his allies, 
not the Persians, who had proved themselves cow- 
ards ; and that if the king wished now to return to 
Asia, he (Mardonius) would undertake to complete 
the conquest of Greece with 300,000 men. Shortly 
after the Persian fleet had sailed towards Asia, Xerxes 
set out on his homeward march. In Thessaly Mar- 
donius selected the 300,000 men with whom he pro- 
posed to conclude the war; but as winter was now 
approaching, he resolved to postpone all further 
operations till the spring. 

After forty-five days' march from Attica, Xerxes 
again reached the shores of the Hellespont, with a 
force greatly diminished by famine and pestilence. 
On the Hellespont he found his fleet, but the bridge 
had been washed away by storms. Landed on the. 
shores of Asia, the Persian army at length obtained 
abundance of provisions, and contracted new maladies 



B.C. 480 THEMISTOCLES THE I1ERO OF SALAMIS 109 

by the sudden change from privation to excess. Thus 
terminated this mighty but unsuccessful expedition. 

Themistocles the Hero of Salamis.— Greece owed its sal- 
vation to one man — Themistocles. This was virtually 
admitted by the leaders of the other Grecian states 
when they assembled to assign the prizes of wisdom 
and conduct. Upon the altar of Poseidon, at the isth- 
mus of Corinth, each chief deposited a tablet inscribed 
with two names, of those whom he considered entitled 
to the first and second prizes. But in this adjudica- 
tion vanity and self-love defeated their own objects. 
Each commander had put down his own name for the 
first prize ; for the second, a great majority voted 
in favor of Themistocles. From the Spartans, also, 
Themistocles received the honors due to his merit, 
the highest honors ever awarded by that people to an 
Athenian. When he visited the city a crown of olive 
was conferred upon him, together with the most splen- 
did chariot which Sparta could produce. 

The Carthaginians in Sicily.— At about the same time 
as the battle of Salamis — indeed, on the very same day 
according to some ancient authorities — the Sicilian 
Greeks also obtained a victory over the Carthaginians. 
There is no doubt that the invasion of Sicily by the 
Carthaginians was concerted with Xerxes, and that 
the simultaneous attack on two distinct Grecian peo- 
ples, by two immense armaments, was not merely the 
result of chance. Gelon, the powerful ruler of Syra- 
cuse, defeated Hamilcar, the Carthaginian general, 
with the loss, it is said, of 150,000 men. 

The Campaign of 479 B.C. : the Athenians Reject the Over- 
tures of Mardonius.— In the spring of 479 b.c. Mardonius 
prepared to open the campaign. He was not without 
hopes of inducing the Athenians to join the Persian 



110 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VIII 

alliance, and he despatched Alexander, king of Mace- 
don, to conciliate the Athenians, now partially re- 
established in their dilapidated city. His offers on 
the part of the Persians were of the most seductive 
kind ; but the Athenians dismissed him with a posi- 
tive refusal, whilst to the Lacedaemonians they pro- 
tested that no temptations, however great, should ever 
induce them to desert the common cause of Greece 
and freedom. In return for this disinterested con- 
duct, all they asked was that a Peloponnesian army 
should be sent into Bceotia for the defence of the Attic 
frontier : a request which the Spartan envoys prom- 
ised to fulfil. No sooner, however, had they returned 
to their own country than this promise was complete- 
ly ignored. 

When Mardonius was informed that the Athenians 
had rejected his proposal, he immediately marched 
against Athens, accompanied by all his Grecian al- 
lies ; and in June, 479 B.C., nine months after the 
capture of the city by Xerxes, the Persians again 
occupied Athens. With feelings of bitter indigna- 
tion against their faithless allies, the Athenians saw 
themselves once more compelled to remove to Sal- 
amis. Mardonius took advantage of his situation to 
endeavor once more to win them to his alliance. 
Through a Hellespontine Greek, the same favorable 
conditions were again offered to them, but were 
again refused. One voice alone, that of the senator 
Lycidas, broke the unanimity of the council. But 
his opposition cost him his life. He and his family 
were stoned to death by the excited populace. In 
this desperate condition, the Athenians sent ambassa- 
dors to the Spartans to remonstrate against their 
breach of faith, and to intimate that necessity might 



B.C. 479 THE BATTLE OF PLAT^EA 111 

at length compel them to listen to the proposals of 
the enemy. For ten days the Spartans delayed giv- 
ing a decisive answer. On the eleventh the Athenian 
envoys went before the ephors and declared their 
intention of returning home and making what terms 
they could with the Persians. But Sparta had al- 
ready acted. On the night before, as the envoys 
learned, 5000 citizens, each attended by seven Helots, 
had been despatched to the frontiers ; and these were 
shortly followed by 5000 Lacedaemonian Perioeci. 
Never before had the Spartans sent so large a force 
into the field. Their example was followed by other 
Peloponnesian cities; and the Athenian envoys re- 
turned to Salamis with the joyful news that a large 
army was preparing to march against the enemy un- 
der the command of Pausanias, who acted as regent 
for the infant son of Leonidas. 

The Battle of Plataea (July or August, 479 B.C.).— Mar- 
donius, on learning the approach of the Lacedaemo- 
nians, abandoned Attica and crossed into Boeotia. 
He finally took up a position on the right bank of 
the Asopus, not far from the town of Plataea. Here 
he caused a camp to be constructed of ten furlongs 
square, fortified with palisades and towers. Mean- 
while the Grecian army continued to receive rein- 
forcements from the different states, and by the time 
it reached Boeotia it formed a grand total of about 
110,000 men. After several da} r s' manoeuvring a 
general battle took place near Plataea. The light- 
armed, undisciplined Persians, whose bodies were 
unprotected by armor, maintained a very unequal 
combat against the serried ranks, the long spears, 
and the mailed bodies of the Spartan phalanx. Mar- 
donius, at the head of his body-guard of 1000 picked 



112 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. VIII 

men, and conspicuous on his white charger, was 
among the foremost in the fight till struck down by 
the hand of a Spartan. The fall of their general 
was the signal for flight to the Persians, already 
wearied and disheartened by the fruitless contest ; 
nor did they once stop till they had reached their 
fortified camp. The glory of having defeated the 
Persians at Platrea rests with the Lacedaemonians, 
since the Athenians were engaged in another part 
of the field with the Greek allies of Mardonius. After 
repulsing them, the Athenians joined the Lacedaemo- 
nians, who had pursued the Persians as far as their 
fortified camp. Upon the arrival of the Athenians 
the barricades were stormed and carried, after a gal- 
lant resistance on the part of the Persians. The 
camp became a scene of the most horrible carnage. 
The Persian loss was immense, while that of the 
Greeks seems not to have exceeded 1300 or 1400 
men. 

It remained to bury the dead and divide the booty; 
and so great was the task that ten days were con- 
sumed in it. The booty was ample and magnificent. 
Gold and silver coined, as well as in plate and trin- 
kets, rich apparel, ornamented arms, horses, camels — 
in a word, all the magnificence of Eastern luxury. 

The Battle of Myca!e. — The failure of the Persian ex- 
pedition was completed by the destruction of their 
naval armament. Leotychides, the Spartan admiral, 
having sailed across the iEgean, found the Persian 
fleet at Mycale, a promontory of Asia Minor near 
Miletus. Their former reverses seem completely to 
have discouraged the Persians from hazarding an- 
other naval engagement. The ships were hauled 
ashore and surrounded with a rampart, whilst an army 



B.C. 478 THE CAPTURE OF SESTUS 113 

of 60,000 Persians lined the coast for their defence. 
The Greeks are said to have landed on the very day 
on which the battle of Plataea was fought. A su- 
pernatural presentiment of that decisive victor} 7 , con- 
veyed by a herald's staff, which floated over the 
iEgean from the shores of Greece, is said to have per- 
vaded the Grecian ranks at Mycale as they marched 
to the attack. The Persians did not long resist : they 
turned their backs and fled to their fortifications, pur- 
sued by the Greeks, who entered them almost simul- 
taneously. A large number of the Persians perished ; 
and the victory was rendered still more decisive by 
the burning of the fleet. 

The Capture of Sestus (478 B.C.).— The Grecian fleet 
now sailed to the Hellespont w T ith the view of de- 
stroying the bridge ; but, finding that it no longer 
existed, Leoty chides departed homewards with the 
Peloponnesian vessels. Xanthippus, however, the 
Athenian commander, seized the opportunity to re- 
cover from the Persians the Thracian Chersonese, 
which had long been an Athenian possession ; and 
proceeded to blockade Sestus, the key of the strait. 
This city surrendered in the spring of 478 B.C., after 
a protracted siege, whereupon the Athenians returned 
home, carrying with them the cables of the bridge 
across the Hellespont to be preserved as trophies. 



CHAPTER IX 

FROM THE END OF THE PERSIAN WARS TO THE BE- 
GINNING OF THE PELOPONNESIAN AVAR, 479-431 
B.C. 

The Athenians Rebuild Their City : the Wail of Themistocles. 

— The Athenians, on their return to Attica, after the 
defeat of the Persians, found their city ruined and 
their country desolate. They began to rebuild their 
city on a larger scale than before, and to fortify it 
with a wall. Those allies to whom the increasing 
maritime power of Athens was an object of suspicion, 
and especially the JEginetans, to whom it was more 
particularly formidable, beheld her rising fortifica- 
tions with dismay. They endeavored to inspire the 
Lacedaemonians with their fears, and urged them to 
arrest the work. But, though Sparta shared the jeal- 
ousy of the allies, she could not, with any decency, 
interfere by force to prevent a friendly city from ex- 
ercising a right inherent in all independent states. 
She assumed, therefore, the hypocritical garb of an 
adviser and counsellor. Concealing her jealousy un- 
der the pretence of zeal for the common interests of 
Greece, she represented to the Athenians that, in the 
event of another Persian invasion, fortified towns 
would serve the enemy for camps and strongholds, as 
Thebes had done in the last war; and proposed that 



B.C. 478 WALL OF THEMISTOCLES BUILT 115 

the Athenians should not only desist from complet- 
ing their own fortifications, but help to demolish 
those which already existed in other towns outside 
Peloponnesus. 

The object of the proposal was too transparent to 
deceive so acute a statesman as Themistocles. Ath- 
ens was not yet, however, in a condition to incur the 
danger of openly rejecting it ; and he therefore ad- 
vised the Athenians to dismiss the Spartan envoys 
with the assurance that they would send ambassadors 
to Sparta to discuss the matter. He then caused 
himself to be appointed one of these ambassadors ; 
and setting off straightway for Sparta, directed his 
colleagues to linger behind as long as possible. At 
Sparta, the absence of his colleagues, at which he af- 
fected to be surprised, afforded him an excuse for not 
demanding an audience of the ephors. During the 
interval thus gained, the whole population of Athens, 
of both sexes and every age, worked at the walls, 
which, when the other ambassadors at length arrived 
at Sparta, had attained a height sufficient to afford a 
tolerable defence. Meanwhile the suspicions of the 
Spartans had been more than once aroused b} r mes- 
sages from the iEginetans and others respecting the 
progress of the walls. Themistocles, however, urged 
the Spartans not to be deceived by these reports, but 
to send messengers of their own to Athens in order 
to learn the true state of affairs, at the same time in- 
structing the Athenians to detain them as hostages 
for the safety of himself and colleagues. When 
there was no longer any motive for concealment, 
Themistocles openly avowed the progress of the 
works, and his intention of securing the indepen- 
dence of Athens, and enabling her to act for herself. 



116 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IX 

The walls being now too far advanced to be easily 
taken, the Spartans found themselves compelled to 
acquiesce, and the works were completed without 
further hinderance. 

Having thus secured the city from all danger of an 
immediate attack, Themistocles pursued his favorite 
project of rendering Athens the greatest maritime 
and commercial power of Greece. He persuaded his 
countrymen to complete the fortifications of the har- 
bor town, Piraeus, distant four or five miles from 
Athens. This work had been begun at Themisto- 
cles' suggestion before the invasion of Xerxes. It 
was now finished, and the Piraeus surrounded with 
a wall of much greater height and thickness than 
that of Athens itself. Meanwhile an event occurred 
which secured more firmly than ever the maritime 
supremacy of Athens, by transferring to her the com- 
mand of the allied fleet. 

The Treason of Pausanias. — In the year after the bat- 
tle of Plataea a fleet had been fitted out and placed 
under the command of the Spartan regent, Pausanias, 
in order to carry on the war against the Persians. 
Aristides and Cimon, the son of Miltiades, were at 
the head of the Athenian contingent, which was the 
largest in the fleet. After conquering the greater 
part of Cyprus, this armament sailed up the Bosporus 
and laid siege to Byzantium, which was garrisoned 
by a large Persian force. The town was compelled 
to surrender , but it was during this expedition that 
the conduct of the Spartan commander struck a fatal 
blow at the interests of his country. 

The renown which Pausanias had acquired at Pla- 
taea had filled him with pride and ambition. After 
the capture of Byzantium he despatched a letter to 



B.C. 476 THE TREASON OF PAUSANIAS 117 

Xerxes, offering to marry the king's daughter, and 
to bring Sparta and the rest of Greece under his do- 
minion. Xerxes was highly delighted with this let- 
ter, and sent a reply in which he urged Pausanias to 
pursue his project night and day, and promised to 
supply him with all the money and troops that might 
be needful for its execution. But the childish vanity 
of Pausanias betrayed his plot before it was ripe for 
execution. Elated by the confidence of Xerxes, he 
acted as if he had already married the Great King's 
daughter. He assumed the Persian dress ; he made 
a progress through Thrace, attended by Persian and 
Egyptian guards, and copied in the luxury of his ta- 
ble the example of his adopted country. Above all, 
he offended the allies by his haughty reserve and im- 
periousness. His designs were now too manifest to 
escape attention. His proceedings reached the ears 
of the Spartans, who sent out Dorcis to supersede 
him. Disgusted by the insolence of Pausanias, the 
Ionians and iEolians serving in the combined Grecian 
fleet addressed themselves to the Athenian generals, 
whose manners formed a striking contrast to those 
of the Spartan leader, and begged them to assume the 
command. This request was made precisely at the 
time when Pausanias was recalled ; and accordingly 
when Dorcis arrived he found the Athenians in com- 
mand of the combined fleet (476 B.C.). 

The Formation of the Confederacy cf Delos (476 B.C.). — 
This event w T as not a mere empty question about a 
point of honor. It was a real revolution, terminat- 
ed by a solemn league, of which Athens was to be 
the head. Aristides took the lead in the matter, for 
which his proverbial justice and probity eminentty 
qualified him. The league obtained the name of "the 



118 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IX 

Confederacy of Delos," from its being arranged that 
deputies of the allies belonging to it should meet 
periodically for deliberation in the temple of Apollo 
in that island. Each state was independent, and 
had an equal vote with every other in directing the 
affairs of the league. Each was assessed by the 
Athenians in a certain contribution, either of money 
or ships. The assessment was intrusted to Aristides, 
whose impartiality was universally applauded. Of 
the details, however, we only know that certain 
officers called Hellenotamiae were appointed by the 
Athenians to receive the contributions, and that Delos 
was the treasury. The object of the league was to 
prosecute the war against Persia, and to set free those 
Greeks who were still under Persian domination. 

Such was the origin of the Confederacy of Delos. 
Upon its formation the command of the combined 
fleet was given to Cimon, the son of Miltiades. 

The Fate of Pausanias (468 B.C.). — Pausanias, on his 
return to Sparta, seems to have been acquitted of any 
serious charges; but he continued his correspondence 
with Persia, and an accident at length 'afforded con- 
vincing proofs of his guilt. A favorite slave, to whom 
he had intrusted a letter to the Persian satrap at Das- 
cylium, observed with dismay that none of the mes- 
sengers employed in this service had ever returned. 
Moved by these fears, he broke the seal and read the let- 
ter, and finding his suspicions of the fate that awaited 
him confirmed, he carried the document to the ephors. 
But in ancient states the testimony of a slave was al- 
ways regarded with suspicion. The ephors refused 
to believe the evidence offered to them unless con- 
firmed by their own ears. For this purpose they di- 
rected him to plant himself as a suppliant in a sacred 



B.C. 468 FATE OF PAUSANIAS 119 

grove near Cape Taenarum, in a hut in which several of 
their body might conceal themselves. Pausanias, as 
they had expected, anxious at the step taken by his 
slave, hastened to the spot to question him about it. 
The conversation which ensued, and which w T as over- 
heard by the ephors, rendered the guilt of Pausanias 
no longer doubtful. They now determined to arrest 
him on his return to Sparta. They met him in the 
street near the temple of Athena Chalcioecus (of the 
-Brazen House), when Pausanias, either alarmed by 
his guilty conscience, or put on his guard by a secret 
signal from one of the ephors, turned and fled to the 
temple, where he took refuge in a small chamber be- 
longing to the building. From this sanctuary it was 
unlawful to drag him ; but the ephors caused the 
doors to be built up and the roof to be removed. It 
is even said that his own mother placed the first stone 
at the doors. When at the point of death from star- 
vation,!^ was carried from the sanctuary before he 
polluted it with his corpse. Such was the end of the 
victor of Platea (468 B.C.). After his death the Spar- 
tans alleged that proofs were discovered among his 
papers that Themistocles was implicated in his guilt. 
But, in order to follow the fortunes of the Athenian 
statesman, it is necessary to take a glance at the in- 
ternal history of Athens. 

Party Struggles in Athens: the Ostracism of Themistocles 
(471 B.C.)- — The formation of the Confederacy of 
Delos had brought great credit and renown to Aris- 
tides and Cimon. The hegemony of Athens was es- 
tablished, and new states were continually being 
added to the league of which she was the head. Under 
these circumstances, Themistocles was losing his pre- 
eminence, and his influence was gradually decreasing. 



120 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IX 

Moreover, Aristides and Cimon were stoutly support- 
ed by the powerful aristocratic families of Athens. 
The Philaidae and the Alcmreonida? had been from the 
earliest times the two leading houses. In former gen- 
erations they had been engaged in almost continuous 
strife with one another. Now, however, they were 
united. For Aristides, though not himself an Alc- 
msBonid, had always been most intimately connected 
with that family ; and Cimon, whose advancement 
Aristides had favored and assisted, was one of the 
Philaida?. Aristides and Cimon stood together, there- 
fore, as the representatives of the aristocratic party 
at Athens. Against them Themistocles could not 
command a sufficiently strong following. It would 
appear that he tried to w 7 in popularity and increase 
his power in the state by various reforms of a dem- 
ocratic tendency, but that in these endeavors he 
was thwarted by his opponents. Further, the Spar- 
tans hated Themistocles for having baffled their at- 
tempt to prevent the fortification of Athens, and con- 
sequently used against him the influence which they 
still possessed in Athenian political circles. No doubt, 
also, the conqueror of Salamis had become unpopular 
through too often reminding the Athenians of his 
services to the country. In view of all these facts, 
it is not surprising that when ostracism was resorted 
to, in 471 B.C., Themistocles was the one w T ho was 
banished. 

Themistocles Flees to Asia: His Death. — He retired to 
Argos, w T here he was residing when the Spartans 
called upon the Athenians to prosecute their great 
statesman on the ground of treasonable correspond- 
ence with Persia. Accordingly, joint envoys were 
sent from Athens and Sparta to arrest him (4GS B.C.). 



B.C. 458 DEATH OF THEMISTOCLES 121 

Themistocles, however, avoided the impending dan- 
ger by flying from Argos to Corcyra. Meanwhile 
the Athenians condemned him to death in his absence 
on the ground of treason, and decreed the confisca- 
tion of his property. Themistocles found the Cor- 
cyraeans unwilling to brave the enmity of Athens and 
Sparta by sheltering him; he was accordingly set 
ashore on the opposite coast of Epirus ; and, being 
still pursued, he was forced to seek refuge at the 
court of Admetus, king of the Molossians, though the 
latter was his personal enemy. Fortunately, Adme- 
tus happened to be away from home. The forlorn 
condition of Themistocles excited the compassion of 
the wife of the Molossian king, who placed her child 
in his arms, and bade him seat himself on the hearth 
as a suppliant. As soon as the king arrived, Themis- 
tocles explained his peril, and adjured him by the 
sacred laws of hospitality not to take vengeance upon 
a fallen foe. Admetus accepted his appeal, and 
raised him from the hearth; he refused to deliver 
him up to his pursuers, and at last only dismissed him 
on his own expressed desire to proceed to Persia. 
After many perils, Themistocles succeeded in reach- 
ing in safety the coast of Asia. After a time he pro- 
ceeded to Susa and presented himself before Arta- 
xerxes, the son of Xerxes, who was now upon the 
throne of Persia. The king, after listening to his 
plea, granted him the royal favor and protection. In a 
year's time, Themistocles, having acquired a sufficient 
knowledge of the Persian language to be able to con- 
verse in it, entertained Artaxerxes with magnificent 
schemes for the subjugation of Greece. Artaxerxes 
loaded him with honors,gave him the revenues of three 
cities for his support, and appointed Magnesia, a town 



122 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IX 

not far from the Ionian coast, as his place of resi- 
dence. After living there some time he was carried 
off by disease, without having realized, or apparently 
attempted, any of those plans with which he had 
dazzled the Persian monarch. An untrustworthy tra- 
dition ascribes his death to poison, which he is said 
to have taken of his own accord, from a conscious- 
ness of his inability to perform his promises. He 
probably died about 458 B.C. The question whether 
Themistocles was guilty or innocent of the charge 
brought against him has been much discussed. Most 
ancient authorities seem to have regarded him as a 
traitor ; in recent times the opposite view has found 
strong support. It seems on the whole to be neither 
proved nor probable that he was guilty of treason. 

The Death of Aristides. — Aristides died a few years 
after the banishment of Themistocles. The common 
accounts of his poverty are probably exaggerated, 
and seem to have been founded on the circumstances 
of a public funeral, and of handsome donations made 
to his three children by the state. But, whatever his 
propert}^ may have been, it is at least certain that 
he did not acquire or increase it by unlawful means; 
and not even calumny has ventured to assail his well- 
earned title of the Just, 

Reforms in the Athenian Constitution. — Some reforms 
which seem to have been effected during the period 
between the beginning of the Persian wars and the 
death of Aristides may be mentioned here. The ill- 
advised provision of the old constitution which gave 
equal authority to each of the ten generals, evidently 
became a source of trouble to the Athenians. In her 
dealings with the allies, and in military expeditions, 
the state needed to be represented by one commander 



B.C. 476 GROWTH OF THE DELIAN CONFEDERACY 123 

with full power. Accordingly one of the ten gener- 
als was often made general-in-chief by vote of the 
people and his associates subordinated to him. Or 
asrain the Ecclesia chose some one of the ten to be the 
leader of a special expedition. The Polemarch mean- 
while had ceased to have any part whatever in mili- 
tary operations. In 487 B.C. the state reverted to the 
Solonian method of choosing archons — that is, by lot 
from a selected number of candidates. Some time 
later the arch on ship was thrown open to citizens be- 
longing to Solon's second class, the Knights. 

Growth of the Delian Confederacy. — On the death of 
Aristides, Cimon became the undisputed leader of 
the conservative party at Athens. Cimon was gener- 
ous, affable, magnificent ; and, notwithstanding his 
political views, of exceedingly popular manners. He 
had inherited the military genius of his father, and 
was undoubtedly the greatest commander of his time. 
He employed the vast wealth acquired in his expe- 
ditions in adorning Athens and gratifying his fel- 
low-citizens. It has been already mentioned that he 
became commander of the allied fleet upon the for- 
mation of the Confederacy of Delos. His first exploit 
was the capture of Eion on the Strymon (476 B.C.). 
This success was followed by the conquest of almost 
all the towns on the coast of Thrace, from Macedo- 
nia to the Hellespont. Byzantium and Sestus fell in 
470 "B.C. Two years later the island of Scyros was 
reduced to subjection. Shortly afterwards we find 
the first symptoms of discontent among the members 
of the Confederacy of Delos. Naxos, one of the con- 
federate islands, and the largest of the Cyclades, re- 
volted in 467 B.C., probably from a feeling of the 
growing oppressiveness of the Athenian headship. 



124 niSTORY OF GREECE Chap. IX 

It was immediately invested by the confederate fleet, 
reduced, and made tributary to Athens. This was 
another step towards dominion gained by the Athe- 
nians, whose pretensions were assisted by the impru- 
dence of the allies. Many of the states belonging 
to the confederacy, wearied with perpetual hostili- 
ties, commuted for a money payment the ships which 
they were bound to supply ; and thus, by depriving 
themselves of a navy, lost the only means by wbich 
they could assert their independence. 

The Battle of the Eurymedon (467 B.C.). — The same 
year was marked by important operations against the 
Persians. Cimon, at the head of more than 200 tri- 
remes, proceeded to the coast of Asia Minor. The 
coast cities of Caria and Lycia were freed from the 
Persian yoke and became members of the Delian 
confederacy. Meanwhile the Persians had assem- 
bled a large fleet and army at the mouth of the river 
Eurymedon in Pamphylia. After speedily defeating 
the fleet, Cimon landed his men and marched against 
the Persian army, which was drawn up on the shore 
to protect the fleet. The land force fought with 
bravery, but was at length put to the rout. 

The Revolt of Thasos and the Third Messenian War. — The 
island of Thasos was the next member of the con- 
federacy against which the Athenians directed their 
arms. After a siege of two years that island surren- 
dered, when its fortifications were razed, and it was 
condemned to pay tribute (464 B.C.). 

The expedition to Thasos was attended with a 
circumstance which first gives token of the coming 
hostilities between Sparta and Athens. Sparta had 
been kept busy for ten years after the battle of Pla- 
taea in re-establishing her supremacy in Peloponnesus, 



B.C. 464 THE THIRD MESSENIAN WAR 125 

which had been threatened by a formidable coalition 
of the Arrives and Arcadians. Now her hands were 
free and she was anxious to put a check on the grow- 
ing power of Athens. When, accordingly, the Thasi- 
ans, at an early period of the blockade of their island, 
secretly applied to the Lacedaemonians to make a di- 
version in their favor by invading Attica, the Lace- 
daamonians, though still ostensibly friendly to Athens, 
were base enough to comply with this request. Their 
treachery, however, was prevented by a terrible ca- 
lamity which befel themselves. In the year 465 B.C. 
their capital was visited by an earthquake, which laid 
it in ruins and killed a great number of the citizens. 
But this was only part of the calamity. The earth- 
quake was immediately followed by a revolt of the 
Helots, who were always ready to take advantage of 
the weakness of their tyrants. Moreover, there is no 
doubt that Pausanias a few years before had aroused 
a spirit of discontent among the Helots, promising 
them freedom and citizenship in return for their as- 
sistance in carrying out his traitorous schemes. Being 
now joined by the Messenians, the Helots fortified 
themselves in Mount Ithome, in Messenia. Hence this 
revolt is sometimes called the Third Messenian War. 
After vain attempts to dislodge them from this posi- 
tion, the Lacedaemonians found themselves obliged to 
call in the assistance of their allies, and, among the 
rest, of the Athenians. It was with great difficulty 
that Cimon persuaded the Athenians to comply with 
this request ; but he was at length despatched to 
Laconia with a force of 4000 hoplites. The aid of the 
Athenians had been requested by the Lacedaemonians 
on account of their acknowledged superiority in the 
art of attacking fortified places. As, however, Cimon 



126 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IX 

did not succeed in dislodging the Helots from Ithome, 
the Lacedremonians, probably from a consciousness 
of their own treachery in the affair of Thasos, sus- 
pected that the Athenians were playing them false, 
and abruptly dismissed them, saying that they had 
no longer any occasion for their services. 

The Triumph of the Democratical Party: Overthrow of the 
Areopagus (463 B.C.). — This rude dismissal gave great 
offence at Athens, and annihilated for a time the po- 
litical influence of Cimon. The democratical party 
had from the first opposed the expedition ; and it 
afforded them a great triumph to be able to point to 
Cimon returning not only unsuccessful, but insulted. 
Moreover, Cimon had been so continually absent 
from Athens during: the last fifteen years that the 
aristocratic party, left without its leader, had been 
steadily losing ground. Ephialtes, who was now at 
the head of the opposition, was a statesman of the 
most radical tendencies, but, like Aristides, of incor- 
ruptible integrity. He sought nothing less than the 
overthrow of the Areopagus, always the bulwark of 
the aristocratic party. The Areopagus had won the 
favor of the people at the time of Xerxes' invasion 
by a general distribution of public funds to assist 
the Athenians in their hasty removal from the city. 
Since then it had been virtually the ruling power in 
the state. Ephialtes now succeeded, with the support 
of the people, in depriving it of its chief functions, 
which he transferred to the Senate, the Ecclesia, and 
the Dicasteries. The Areopagus was left with little 
more than its ancient jurisdiction in cases of man- 
slaughter. All this seems to have been accomplished 
at the time when Cimon was absent in Messenia (463 
B.C.). He returned to find his party shattered and 



B.C. 463 PERICLES SUCCEEDS EPHIALTES 127 

his own power at an end. In the following year (462 
B.C.) he was condemned by ostracism to a ten years' 
banishment. 

Pericles Succeeds Ephialtes. — Not long after the over- 
throw of the Areopagus, Ephialtes was assassinated. 
He was succeeded as leader of the popular party by 
Pericles, who probably came into power shortly before 
the banishment of Cimon. A sort of hereditary feud 
existed between Pericles and Cimon ; for it was Xan- 
thippus, the father of Pericles, who had impeached 
Miltiades, the father of Cimon. The character of 
Pericles was almost the reverse of Cimon's. Although 
the leader of the popular party, his manners were re- 
served. He appeared but little in society, and only in 
public upon great occasions. His mind had received 
the highest polish which that period was capable of 
giving. He was a friend and companion of the emi- 
nent philosophers Anaxagoras and Zeno. To oratory 
in particular he had devoted much attention, as an in- 
dispensable instrument for swaying the public assem- 
blies of Athens. 

Constitutional Reforms of Pericles. — Pericles carried 
still further the democratic reforms begun by Ephi- 
altes. He was the author of a law by which the Di- 
casts or members of the popular courts received pay- 
ment for their services. Since the time of Solon, 
their creator, these courts had gained great power 
and importance and the number of the Dicasts had 
been increased to 6000. From this body ten separate 
courts or Discasteries of 500 each were constituted. 
Vacancies which might occur on account of sickness 
or death were filled by drawing upon the remaining 
1000. The Discasts were chosen by lot from the 
whole number of citizens w r ho presented themselves 



128 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IX 

as candidates. Upon the overthrow of the Areopagus 
these courts had assumed many of its functions, and 
by providing that jurors should be paid from the 
state treasury Pericles made it possible for all citi- 
zens, even the poorest, to serve in that capacity. He 
also secured the passage of a law making citizens of 
Solon's third class, the Zeugitae, eligible to the archon- 
ship (457 b.c). 

The Extension of Athenian Influence: the Battle of Tanagra 
(458 B.C.)- — While these changes were taking place 
in the internal administration of the state, Athens 
was widening and strengthening her empire abroad. 
Pericles had succeeded to the political principles of 
Theinistocles, and his aim was to render Athens the 
leading power of Greece. The Confederacy of Delos 
had already secured her maritime ascendancy;. Peri- 
cles directed his policy to the extension of her influ- 
ence in continental Greece. She formed an alliance 
with the Thessalians, Argos, and Megara. The pos- 
session of Megara was of great importance, as it en- 
abled the Athenians to arrest the progress of an in- 
vading army from Peloponnesus. The iEginetans, 
so long the maritime rivals of Athens, were defeated 
in an important naval battle and their city besieged. 
The Corinthians who invaded Megaris to make a di- 
version in favor of the iEginetans were defeated with 
great loss and driven back. The so-called Long Walls 
were begun, connecting Athens with its two ports, 
Piraeus and Phalerum. All this activity on the part 
of the Athenians could not fail to rouse the Spartans. 
They soon found a pretext for sending an army into 
northern Greece. The Phocians had made war upon 
the Dorians and captured one of their towns. The 
Spartans claimed Doris as their mother - country, 



B.C. 458 THE BATTLE OF TANAGRA 129 

and as soon as the news of the Phocian invasion 
reached them they despatched an army of 12,000 men 
to its assistance. Since the Athenians held the isth- 
mus, the Spartan army was compelled to cross the 
Corinthian Gulf in order to reach Phocis. The Pho- 
cians were unable to offer any effective resistance, and 
the object of the Spartan expedition was soon accom- 
plished. The army thereupon marched into Bceotia, 
where it was learned that the Athenians had sent a 
fleet to the Corinthian Gulf, evidently intending to 
attack the Spartans if they should attempt to return by 
the way they had come. Under these circumstances 
the Spartan commander, Nicomedes, decided to remain 
for a while in Bceotia. Here he did good service to 
Sparta by forcing the Boeotian towns into a league of 
which Thebes was made the head. Thus a powerful 
state was created w T hich could be relied upon to keep 
close watch on Athens. Meanwhile the nearness of 
the Peloponnesian army had excited uneasiness among 
the Athenians. They finally sent out the strongest 
force they could muster, supported by troops from 
Argos and the other allied states, to attempt to drive 
the Spartans from Bceotia. A great battle was fought 
at Tanagra (458 B.C.) in which the Spartans were vic- 
torious, though both sides suffered severely. The 
victors marched back to Peloponnesus unopposed by 
way of the isthmus. 

Further Athenian Conquests and Campaigns. — Within two 
months after the battle of Tanagra the Athenians 
were back again in Bceotia. A decisive victory at 
(Enophyta reduced all the Boeotian towns except 
Thebes to subjection. As a further result of the 
victory the Phocians enrolled themselves as allies 
of the Athenians, and the Opuntian Locrians surren- 



130 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IX 

dered a hundred of their richest citizens as hostages. 
From the Gulf of Corinth to the Straits of Ther- 
mopylae Athenian influence was now predominant. 
The activity of the Athenians did not end here. In 
457 B.C. the iEginetans capitulated, and their island 
became tributary to Athens. In the following year 
an Athenian expedition sailed round Peloponne- 
sus, burned the Spartan dock -yards at Gytheum, 
and fought a successful battle with the Sicyonians. 
In 454 and 453 B.C. expeditions were undertaken 
against Thessaly, Sicyon, and Acarnania, but without 
decisive results. During these events the Athenians 
had continued to prosecute the war against Persia. 
In the year 459 B.C. they sent a powerful fleet to 
Egypt to assist Inarus, who had revolted against Per- 
sia ; but this expedition proved a complete failure, 
for at the end of six years the revolt was put down by 
the Persians, and the Athenian fleet destroyed (453 
b.c). At a later period (449 B.C.), Cimon, who had 
been recalled from exile, sailed to Cyprus with a fleet 
of 200 ships. He undertook the siege of Citium in 
that island, but died during the progress of it, either 
from disease or from the effects of a wound. The 
Athenians returned home, though not until they had 
won an important victory over the fleet and army of 
the enemy. Shortly afterwards a pacification was 
concluded with Persia, which is sometimes, but erro- 
neously, called "the peace of Cimon." It is stated 
that by this compact the Persian monarch agreed not 
to tax or molest the Greek colonies on the coast of 
Asia Minor, nor to send any vessels of war westward 
of Phaselis in Lycia, or the Cyanean rocks at the 
junction of the Euxine with the Thracian Bosporus ; 
the Athenians on their side undertaking to leave the 



B.C. 446 ATHENIAN REVERSES 131 

Persians in undisputed possession of Cyprus and Egypt. 
During the progress of these events, the states which 
formed the Confederacy of Delos, with the exception 
of Chios, Lesbos, and Samos, had gradually become, in- 
stead of the active allies of Athens, her disarmed and 
passive tributaries. Even the custody of the fund 
had been transferred from Delos to Athens. The pur- 
pose for which the confederacy had been originally 
organized disappeared with the Persian peace ; yet 
what may now be called Imperial Athens continued, 
for her own ends, to exercise her prerogatives as head 
of the league. Her alliances, as we have seen, had 
likewise been extended in continental Greece, where 
they embraced Megara, Bceotia, Phocis, Locris, to- 
gether with Troezen and Achaia in Peloponnesus. 
Such was the position of Athens in the period of her 
greatest power and prosperity. The catastrophe in 
Egypt, however, was the beginning of a series of re- 
verses. From this time her empire began to decline ; 
while Sparta, and other watchful and jealous enemies, 
stood ever ready to strike a blow. 

Athenian Reverses: the Thirty Years' Truce (445 B.C.). — 
In 446 B.C. a revolution in Bceotia deprived Athens of 
her ascendency in that country. With an overweening 
contempt of their enemies, a small band of 1000 Athe- 
nian hoplites, chiefly composed of youthful volunteers 
belonging to the best Athenian families, together with 
a few auxiliaries, marched under the command of Tol- 
mides to put down the revolt. The enterprise proved 
disastrous in the extreme. Tolmides was defeated and 
slain near Coronea; a large number of the hoplites 
also fell in the engagement, whilst a still larger number 
were taken prisoners. This last circumstance proved 
fatal to the interests of Athens in Bceotia. In order to 



132 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IX 

recover these prisoners she agreed to evacuate Bceotia, 
and to permit the re-establishment of the aristocracies 
which she had formerly overthrown. But the Athe- 
nian reverses did not end here. The expulsion of the 
partisans of Athens from the government of Phocis 
and Locris, and the revolt of Eubcea and Megara, were 
announced in quick succession. The youthful Pleis- 
toanax, king of Sparta, actually penetrated, with an 
army of Lacedaemonians and Peloponnesian allies, as 
far as the neighborhood of Eleusis ; and the capital 
itself, it is said, was saved only by Pericles having 
bribed the Spartan monarch. Pericles reconquered 
Eubcea ; but this was the onty possession which the 
Athenians succeeded in recovering. Their empire on 
land had vanished more speedily than it had been ac- 
quired ; and they were therefore induced to conclude, 
at the beginning of 445 B.C., a Thirty Years' Truce 
with Sparta and her allies, by which they consented 
to abandon all the acquisitions which they had made 
in Peloponnesus, and to leave Megara to be included 
among the Peloponnesian allies of Sparta. 

Athenian Art and Literature in the Age of Pericles. — From 
the Thirty Years' Truce to the commencement of 
the Peloponnesian war few political events of any 
importance occurred. During these fourteen years 
(445-431 B.C.) Pericles continued to enjoy the sole 
direction of affairs. His views were of the most 
lofty kind. Athens was to become the capital of 
Greece and the centre of art and refinement. In her 
external appearance the city was to be rendered 
worthy of the high position to which she aspired by 
the beauty and splendor of her public buildings, by 
her works of art in sculpture, architecture, and paint- 
ing, and by the pomp and magnificence of her relig- 



B.C. 445-431 ATHENIAN ART AND LITERATURE 133 

ious festivals. All these objects Athens was enabled 
to attain in an incredibly short space of time, through 
the genius and energy of her citizens and the vast re- 
sources at her command. No state has ever exhib- 
ited so much intellectual activity and so great a prog- 
ress in art as was displayed by Athens in the period 
which elapsed between the Thirty Years' Truce and 
the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war. She was 
the seat and centre of Grecian literature. The three 
great tragic poets of Greece were natives of Attica. 
^Eschylus, the earliest of the three, had recently died 
in Sicily ; but Sophocles was now at the full height 
of his reputation, and Euripides was rapidly rising 
into notice. Aristophanes, the greatest of the comic 
poets, was born in Athens, and exhibited plays soon 
after the beginning of the Peloponnesian war. He- 
rodotus, the Father of History, though a native of 
Halicarnassus in Asia Minor, resided some time at 
Athens, and accompanied a colony which the Athe- 
nians sent to Thurii in Italy. Thucydides, the great- 
est of Greek historians, was an Athenian, and was a 
young man at this period. 

Pericles' Colonial Policy. — Colonization, for which 
the genius and inclination of the Athenians had al- 
ways been suited, was another method adopted by 
Pericles for extending the influence and empire of 
Athens. The settlements made under his auspices 
were of two kinds, Clemchies and regular colonies. 
The former mode was exclusively Athenian. It con- 
sisted in the allotment of land in conquered or sub- 
ject countries to certain bodies of Athenians, who 
continued to retain all their original rights of citi- 
zenship. This circumstance, as well as the conven- 
ience of entering upon land already in a state of cul- 



134 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IX 

tivation, instead of having to reclaim it from the 
rude condition of nature, seems to have rendered 
such a mode of settlement much preferred by the 
Athenians. The earliest instance which we find of 
it is in the year 506 B.C., when four thousand Athe- 
nians entered upon the domains of the Chalcidian 
knights. But it was under Pericles that this system 
was most extensively adopted. During his adminis- 
tration 1000 Athenian citizens were settled in the 
Thracian Chersonese, 500 in Naxos, and 250 in An- 
dros. The islands of Lemnos and Imbros, as well as 
a large tract in Euboea, were also occupied by Athe- 
nian proprietors. 

The most important colonies settled by Pericles 
were those of Thurii and Amphipolis. The former 
was founded in 445 B.C. near the site of the ancient- 
city Sybaris, which was destroyed by the Crotoniates 
in 510 b.c. Since that time the exiled Sybarites had 
been subject to almost continuous persecution by 
their ancient enemies. They now became united in 
the new city with the Athenian colonists sent out by 
Pericles. The colony of Amphipolis was founded in 
437 b.c. under the conduct of Hagnon, and long re- 
mained one of the most valuable of the Athenian 
possessions. 

Attacks upon Pericles. — But Pericles, notwithstand- 
ing his influence and power, had still many bitter and 
active enemies, who assailed him through his private 
connections, and even endeavored to wound his hon- 
or by a charge of peculation. Pericles, after divorc- 
ing a wife with whom he had lived unhappily, took 
his mistress Aspasia to his house, and dwelt with her 
till his death on terms of the greatest affection. She 
was distinguished not only for her beauty, but also 



ATTACKS UPON PERICLES 



135 



for her learning and ac- 
complishments. Her in- 
timacy with Anaxago- 
ras, the celebrated Ionic 
philosopher, was made a 
handle for wounding 
Pericles in his tenderest 
relations. Anaxagoras 
was indicted for impiety. 
It is not certain whether 
his case was brought to 
trial or not ; at any rate, 
he escaped with his life, 
no doubt through the 
assistance of Pericles. 
At the same time or 
shortly afterwards a sim- 
ilar charge was brought 
against Aspasia. Peri- 
cles himself pleaded her 
cause. As an intimate 
friend of Anaxagoras, he 
was himself indirectly 
implicated in the indict- 
ment ; but he felt no con- 
cern except for his be- 
loved Aspasia, and on 
this occasion the cold 
and somewhat haughty 
statesman, whom the 
most violent storms of 
the assembly could not 
deprive of his self-possession, was for once seen to 
weep. His appeal to the jury was successful. At 




THE VARVAKEION STATUETTE: A 
COPY OF THE ATHENA OF PHIDIAS 



136 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IX 

about the same time an indictment was preferred 
ngainst his friend, the great sculptor Phidias, for the 
embezzlement of gold intended to adorn the celebrat- 
ed statue of Athena ; and, according to some, Peri- 
cles himself was included in the charge of peculation. 
Whether Pericles was ever actually tried on this accu- 
sation is uncertain; but, at all events, if he was, there 
can be no doubt that he was honorably acquitted. The 
gold employed in the statue had been fixed in such a 
manner that it could be detached and weighed, and 
Phidias challenged his accusers to the proof. But he 
was now further charged with having introduced por- 
traits both of himself and Pericles in the sculptures 
which adorned the shield of the statue of Athena. 
It is said that he died in prison before the day of 
trial. 

Discontent in the Confederacy of Delos: Uie Revolt of 
Samos (440 B.C.). — The Athenian empire, since the 
conclusion of the Thirty Years' Truce, had again 
become exclusively maritime. Yet even among the 
subjects and allies united with Athens by the Con- 
federacy of Delos, her sway was borne with grow- 
ing discontent. One of the chief causes of this dis- 
satisfaction was the amount of the tribute exacted 
by the Athenians, as well as their manner of employ- 
ing the proceeds. This tribute had originally been 
levied for the purpose of carrying on the war with 
Persia. That war was now at an end, and yet the 
assessment imposed upon the various allied states 
seems to have been nearly, if not quite, as large as 
before. Only a part of the vast revenue which thus 
accrued to Athens was employed in protecting the 
allies ; the rest was either spent in adorning the city 
with magnificent buildings and works of art, or 



B.C. 434 CORINTH AND CORCYRA QUARREL 137 

hoarded in the treasury. Another grievance was the 
transference to Athens of all important criminal 
suits, the allies being deprived of the power to punish 
an offender with death, banishment, or disfranchise- 
ment. 

In 440 B.C. war broke out between Samos and 
Miletus, both members of the Delian confederacy. 
The Samians refused to refer the dispute to the of- 
fered mediation of Athens, and a fleet under the 
command of Pericles himself was sent against the 
island. He defeated the Samian fleet in successive 
engagements, and forced the city to capitulate. The 
Samians were compelled to raze their fortifications, to 
surrender their fleet, to give hostages for their future 
conduct, and to pay the expenses of the war. 

The Quarrel between Corinth and Corcyra. — The tri- 
umphs and the power of Athens were regarded with fear 
and jealousy by her rivals ; and the quarrel between 
Corinth and Corcyra lighted the spark which was to 
produce the conflagration. On the coast of Illyria the 
Corcyrseans had founded the city of Epidamnus. Cor- 
cyra (now Corfu) was itself a colony of Corinth ; and 
though long at enmity with its mother-country, was 
forced, according to the time - hallowed custom of the 
Greeks in such matters, to select the founder of Epi- 
damnus from the Corinthians. Accordingly, Corinth 
became the mother-city of Epidamnus as well as of 
Corcyra. At the time of which we speak, the Epidam- 
nians, being hard pressed by the Illyrians, led by some 
oligarchical exiles of their own city, applied to Cor- 
cyra for assistance, which the Corcyrseans refused. 
The Epidamnians then sought help from the Corin- 
thians, who undertook to assist them. The Corcy- 
rseans, highly resenting this interference, attacked 



138 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IX 

the Corinthian fleet off Cape Actium, and gained a 
signal victory (434 B.C.). 

The Athenians Conclude a Defensive Alliance with Corcyra 
(432 B.C.). — Deeply humbled by this defeat, the Co- 
rinthians spent the two following years in active 
preparations for retrieving it. The Corcyraeans, who 
had not enrolled themselves either in the Lacedaemo- 
nian or Athenian alliance, and therefore stood alone, 
were greatly alarmed at these preparations. They 
now resolved to remedy this deficiency ; and, as Cor- 
inth belonged to the Lacedaemonian alliance, the 
Corcyraeans had no option, and were obliged to apply 
to Athens. After long debate the Athenian assem- 
bly decided to comply with their request ; but, in 
order to avoid an open infringement of the Thirty 
Years' Truce, it was resolved to conclude only a 
defensive alliance with Corcyra — that is, to defend 
the Corcyraeans in case their territories were actually 
invaded by the Corinthians, but beyond that not to 
lend them any active assistance. A small Athenian 
squadron of only ten triremes was despatched to the 
assistance of the Corcyraeans. Soon after their ar- 
rival a battle ensued off the coast of Epirus, between 
the Corinthian and Corcyraean fleets. After a hard- 
fought engagement, victory finally declared in favor 
of the Corinthians. The Athenians now abandoned 
their neutrality, and did all in their power to save 
the flying Corcyraeans from their pursuers. This 
action took place in the morning ; and the Corin- 
thians prepared to renew the attack in the afternoon, 
when they saw in the distance twenty Athenian 
vessels, which they believed to be the advance 
guard of a still larger fleet. They accordingly sailed 
away to the coast of Epirus ; but, finding that the 



B.C. 432 THE REVOLT OF POTID.EA 139 

Athenians did not mean to undertake offensive opera- 
tions against them, they departed homewards with 
their whole fleet. These events took place in the 
early part of the year 432 B.C. 

The Revolt of Potidaea (July, 432 B.C.).— The Corinthians 
were extremely incensed at the conduct of Athens, 
and it is not surprising that they should have watched 
for an opportunity to revenge themselves. On the 
other hand, the Athenians, fully aware of the enmity 
they had aroused, sought to anticipate and thwart any 
attempt at retaliation which the Corinthians might 
make. The natural and almost immediate conse- 
quence of this state of feeling was a second collision 
between the two cities, this time upon the Thracian 
coast. Among the Athenian dependencies in that 
quarter was Potidaea, a town situated on the penin- 
sula of Chalcidice. Potidaea w T as a colony of Cor- 
inth, and, even after it passed under Athenian control, 
maintained a close connection with the mother-city, 
from which it received certain annual magistrates. 
The Athenians now feared that Corinth might take 
advantage of this connection and of its influence in 
Potidaea to cause the revolt of that city. They ac- 
cordingly ordered the Potidaeans to dismiss the Co- 
rinthian magistrates and to tear down their sea-walls. 
The Potidaeans might have obeyed this command 
had they not been supported and urged to open re- 
sistance, not only by the Corinthians, but by Perdic- 
cas, king of Macedonia. This monarch had griev- 
ances of his own against the Athenians, whom he 
was consequently endeavoring to injure by inciting 
their tributary cities in Chalcidice to revolt. His 
designs did not escape the attention of the Athenians, 
and a fleet of thirty triremes was despatched from 



140 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. IX 

Piraeus to the Macedonian coast. Before it arrived, 
however, Potidaea and many other Chalcidian cities 
had openly raised the standard of revolt. The Athe- 
nians at once sent out a second expedition to reduce 
their rebellious dependencies to subjection. 

The Potidaeans received no very zealous support 
from Perdiccas ; the Corinthians, however, sent a 
force of 1600 hoplites and 400 light-armed troops to 
their assistance. The Athenians soon appeared be- 
fore Potidaea, and a battle took place in which, for a 
second time, Corinthians and Athenians were pitted 
against one another. The Corinthians were defeated 
and shut up within the walls of Potidaea, which was 
thereupon besieged by the Athenians. 

The Peloponnesian Congress resolves upon War (November, 
432 B.C.)-— The Corinthians were now convinced of 
their inability to cope with the power of Athens. 
They resolved to seek the aid of Sparta, and accord- 
ingly sent an embassy thither to present their com- 
plaints against the Athenians. At the same time 
they urged the other members of the Lacedaemonian 
alliance to follow their example. The ambassadors 
of the various states were granted an audience at 
Sparta before the popular assembly. The Corinthi- 
ans naturally took the most prominent part in the 
debate that followed ; but other members of the con- 
federacy had also heavy grievances to allege against 
Athens. Foremost among these were the Megarians, 
who complained that their commerce had been ruined 
by a recent decree of the Athenians which excluded 
them from every port within the Athenian jurisdic- 
tion. The iEginetans urged that they had been un- 
justly deprived of their independence. It was gener- 
ally felt that the time had now arrived for checking 



B.C. 431 



THE THEBANS ATTACK PLAT^EA 



141 



the power of Athens. Influenced by these feelings, 
the Lacedaemonians decided upon war ; and a con- 
gress which was now called, made up of representa- 
tives from all the states of the Peloponnesian con- 
federacy, passed a resolution to the same effect. 
This important resolution was adopted towards the 
close of 432 b.c. Before any actual declaration of 
war, hostilities were begun in the spring of 431 b.c. 
by a treacherous attack of the Thebans upon Plataea. 
Though Boeotians by descent, the Plataeans did not 
belong to the Boeotian league, but had long been in 
close alliance with the Athenians. Hence they were 
regarded with hatred and jealousy by the Thebans, 
whose sentiments were also shared by a small oli- 
garchical faction in Plataea itself. The Plataean oli- 
garchs secretly admitted a body of 300 Thebans into 
the town at night ; but the attempt proved a failure ; 
the citizens flew to arms ; and in the morning all the 
Thebans were either slain or taken prisoners. 





COIN OP ATHENS 



CHAPTER X 

THE CITY OF ATHENS 

The Situation and Topography of Athens. — At the be- 
ginning of the Peloponnesian war Athens was at 
the height of its glory under the brilliant adminis- 
tration of Pericles. We may therefore pause here 
to take a brief survey of the city and of its most im- 
portant buildings. Athens is situated about three 
miles from the sea-coast, in the central plain of At- 
tica. In this plain rise several eminences. Of these 
the most prominent is a low, isolated mountain, 
with a conical summit, now called the hill of St. 
George, and which bore in ancient times the name of 
Lycabettus. This mountain, which was not included 
within the ancient walls, lies to the northeast of 
Athens, and forms the most striking feature in the 
environs of the city. Southwest of Lycabettus there 
are five hills of moderate height, all of which formed 
part of the city. Of these the nearest to Lycabettus, 
and at the distance of a mile from the latter, was the 
Acropolis, or citadel of Athens, a craggy rock rising 
abruptly about 200 feet, with a flat summit about 1000 
feet long from east to west by 400 feet broad from 
north to south. Immediately west of the Acropolis 
is a second lower hill of irregular form, the Areopa- 
gus. To the southwest of the Areopagus there rises 
a third hill, the Pnyx, on which the assemblies of the 



ATHENS IN EARLY TIMES 145 

citizens were held. Northwest of the latter is the 
so-called Hill of the Nymphs. Finally the fifth 
hill, known as the Museum, lies southeast of the 
Pnyx and directly south of the Areopagus. The 
Museum is considerably higher than all the others 
except the Acropolis, which rises about fifteen feet 
above it. On the eastern and western sides of the 
city there run two small streams, called respectively 
the Ilisus and Cephisus. The former skirted the an- 
cient wall of the city on its southeastern side, but its 
bed is now dry during almost the entire year. The 
Cephisus, on the other hand, is a never-failing stream, 
watering the fertile plain through which it flows. 
Southwest of the city was seen the Saronic Gulf, with 
the harbors of Athens. 

Athens before the Persian Wars. — Athens is said to 
have derived its name from the prominence given to 
the worship of Athena by its king Erechtheus. The 
inhabitants were previously called Cranai and Cecro- 
pidae, from Cecrops, who, according to tradition, was 
the original founder of the city. This at first occu- 
pied only the hill or rock which afterwards became 
the Acropolis ; but gradually the buildings began to 
spread over the ground at the southern foot of this 
hill. It was not till the time of Pisistratus and his 
sons (560-510 B.C.) that the city began to assume any 
degree of splendor. Pisistratus began the construc- 
tion of a great temple of Olympian Zeus on a low 
plateau to the southeast of the Acropolis. The work 
was interrupted, however, and the structure remained 
unfinished until the time of the Roman emperor Ha- 
drian. Fifteen Corinthian columns still remain to 
mark the site of this temple, one of the largest and 
most magnificent ever constructed in Greece. Pisis- 
10 



THE CITY AND ITS PORTS 147 

tratus also rebuilt and enlarged the ancient temple 
of Athena upon the Acropolis. 

The City and its Ports: the Long Walls. — Xerxes reduced 
the ancient city almost to a heap of ashes. After the 
departure of the Persians, its reconstruction on a 
much larger scale was commenced under the superin- 
tendence of Themistocles, whose first care was to 
provide for its safety by the erection of walls. The 
Acropolis now formed the centre of the city, round 
which the new walls described an irregular circle 
about 5-^ miles in circumference. The space thus 
inclosed formed the Asty, or city, properly so called. 
But the views of Themistocles were not confined 
to the mere defence of Athens: he contemplated 
making her a great naval power, and for this purpose 
adequate docks and arsenals were required. Previ- 
ously the Athenians had used as their only harbor 
the open bay of Phalerum, where the sea-shore is 
nearest to Athens. But Themistocles transferred the 
naval station of the Athenians to the peninsula of 
Piraeus, which is distant about 4^ miles from Athens, 
and contains three natural harbors — a large one on 
the western side, called simply Pirceus, or The Great 
Harbor, and two smaller ones on the eastern side, 
called respectively Zea and Munichia, the latter be- 
ing nearer to the city. It was not till about 460 b.c. 
that the walls were begun which connected Athens 
with her ports. These were at first the outer or 
northern Long Wall, which ran from Athens to Pi- 
raeus, and the Phaleric Wall, connecting the city with 
Phalerum. Both were finished within a very short 
period. It was soon found, however, that the space 
thus inclosed was too vast to be easily defended ; 
and as the port of Phalerum was less protected than 



148 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. X 

Piraeus, and soon ceased to be used by the Athenian 
ships of war, its wall was abandoned and probably al- 
lowed to fall into decay. Its place was supplied by 
another Long Wall, which was built parallel to the 
first at a distance of only about 600 feet, thus render- 
ing both capable of being defended by the same 
body of men. 

It will be seen from the preceding description that 
Athens, in its larger acceptation, and including its 
port, consisted of two cities, the Asty and Piraeus, 
about 5^ and 1 miles respectively in circumference, 
and joined together by a broad street between four 
and five miles long. 

The Age of Pericles. — Such was the outward and ma- 
terial form of that city which during the period be- 
tween the Persian and Peloponnesian wars reached 
the highest pitch of military, artistic, and literary 
glory. The latter portion of this period, or that 
comprised under the ascendency of Pericles, exhibits 
Athenian art in its highest state of perfection, and is 
therefore by way of excellence commonly designated 
as the age of Pericles. The great sculptor of this 
period — perhaps the greatest the world has ever seen 
— was Phidias, to whom Pericles intrusted the super- 
intendence of all the works executed during his ad- 
ministration 

But little now remains in Athens of architectural 
or artistic value that can be ascribed to the period 
before Pericles. It is known that Cimon did much 
to adorn and beautify the city. He began the con- 
struction of a great temple of Athena upon the 
Acropolis, but the work was left unfinished. It 
was reserved for Pericles to make the Acropolis the 
chief centre of the architectural splendor of Athens; 



150 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. X 

for it was during the period of his supremacy and 
under his direction that it was crowned with the 
magnificent structures which have made it famous 
throughout the ages. 

The Acropolis of Athens: the Propylaea. — Originally the 
Acropolis had been the site of the king's palace; but 
after the Persian wars it ceased to be inhabited, and 
was appropriated entirely to the worship of Athena 
and other guardian deities of the city. It was cov- 
ered with the shrines of gods and heroes ; and thus its 
platform presented not only a sanctuary but a mu- 
seum containing the finest productions of the archi- 
tect, the sculptor, and the painter. The only approach 
to it was from the western side. Here a steep wind- 
ing way led up to the Propylaea, the grand entrance 
to the Acropolis, and itself one of the masterpieces of 
Athenian art. It was constructed by the architect 
Mnesicles during the last years before the Pelopon- 
nesian war (437-432 b.c). It is entirely of Pentelic 
marble, and covers nearly the whole of the western 
end of the Acropolis, having a breadth of 154 feet. It 
comprises a central structure and two small wings, 
one to the north, the other to the south. The cen- 
tral portion consists of two porticos, the one facing 
westward towards the Pnyx and that part of the city 
which lies between the two hills, the other eastward 
towards the interior of the Acropolis. These porti- 
cos are separated from each other by a massive wall 
running north and south, and pierced by five doors 
which form the actual entrance to the Acropolis. 
The front line of each portico is marked by a row of 
Doric columns, six in number, while on either side the 
broad avenue which leads through the central door 
are three Ionic columns. The juxtaposition of the 



152 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. X 

two orders of architecture is noteworthy and extreme- 
ly effective. The northern w r ing is in the form of a 
Doric temple and bears the name Pinacotheca from the 
fact that its walls were adorned with paintings. The 
southern wing was evidently planned to correspond 
to the northern, but was not completed in its project- 
ed form. 

The Temple of Athena Nike. — The temple of Athena 
Nike (Athena, the goddess of victory) stands upon a 
projecting bastion just west of the southern w T ing of 
the Propyl sea. It is, therefore, outside the entrance 
to the Acropolis proper. It is one of the smallest of 
Greek temples, measuring only 27 feet in length by 18 
feet in breadth, and is of the Ionic order. The tem- 
ple is generally thought to have been 'erected shortly 
after the completion of the Propylsea. 

The Parthenon. — On passing through the Propylsea 
all the glories of the Acropolis became visible. The 
chief building was the Parthenon, the most perfect 
production of Grecian architecture. This was the 
temple of Athena Polias, dedicated to Athena as pa- 
tron goddess of the city, just as the small temple out- 
side the Propylsea was dedicated to Athena as the 
goddess of victory. The Parthenon w 7 as built under 
the administration of Pericles by the architect Ictinus, 
and was completed in 435 B.C. It stands upon the 
highest part of the Acropolis, near its centre, and 
rests upon the foundation which Cimon prepared for 
his projected temple of Athena. It is entirely of 
Pentelic marble, and its architecture, which is of the 
Doric order, is of the purest kind. It measures 228 
feet in length by 101 feet in breadth, and faces to the 
east, as did all Greek temples with very few exceptions. 
The inner temple, which is surrounded by a peristyle, 



• THE PARTHEXOX 



153 



is divided into four parts, two interior chambers and 
two entrance halls or porticos, one at either end. 
The statue of the goddess stood in the eastern cham- 
ber, which is much the larger of the two, and was 
called Hecatompedos because it was exactly 100 feet 
in length. The western chamber was used as a treas- 
ure-house. To this chamber belonged properly the 
name Parthenon (chamber of the Virgin Goddess), but 
later this term came to be applied to the whole tem- 
ple. The ceiling of both these chambers was sup- 
ported by rows of columns. The whole building was 
adorned with the most exquisite sculptures, executed 




THE PARTHENON RESTORED 



by Phidias and his assistants. These consisted of : 1. 
The sculptures in the tympana of the pediments 
(i.e., the inner portion of the triangular gable ends 
of the roof), each of which was filled with colossal 
figures. The group in the eastern or principal front 



154 HISTORY OF GREECE) Chap. X 

represented the birth of Athena from the head of 
Zeus, and that in the western the contest between 
Athena and Poseidon for the land of Attica. 2. The 
metopes between the triglyphs in the frieze of the 
entablature (i.e., the upper of the two portions into 
which the space between the columns and the roof 




DEMETER AND PERSEPHONE (?) 
From the Eastern Pediment of the Parthenon 

is divided) were filled with sculptures in high relief, 
representing a variety of subjects. Each tablet was 
about 4 feet 5 inches in height by 4 feet 2 inches 
in breadth. Most of those on the south side related 
to the battle of the Lapithae with the Centaurs. One 



THE SCULPTURES OF THE PARTHENON 



155 



of the metopes is figured below. 3. The frieze which 
ran along outside the wall of the cella, and within the 
external columns which surround the building, at the 
same height and parallel with the metopes, was sculpt- 
ured with a representation of the Panathenaic pro- 
cession in very low relief. This frieze was 3 feet 4 
inches in height, and 523 feet in length. A small 




A METOPE FROM THE PARTHENON 



portion of it is figured on the following page. A large 
number of the slabs of the frieze, together with six- 
teen metopes from the south side, and many of the 
statues of the pediments, were brought to England 
by Lord Elgin, of whom they were purchased by the 
nation and deposited in the British Museum. 

But the chief wonder of the Parthenon was the 



156 



HISTORY OF GREECE 



Chap. X 




FRAGMENT FROM THE PARTHENON FRIEZE 



colossal statue of the Virgin Goddess, executed by 
Phidias himself, which stood in the eastern or prin- 
cipal chamber of the cella. It was of the sort called 
chryselephantine^ in which ivory was substituted for 
marble in those parts which were uncovered, while 
the place of the real drapery was supplied with robes 
and other ornaments of solid gold. Its height, in- 
cluding the base, was nearly forty feet. It repre- 
sented the goddess standing, clothed with a tunic 
reaching to the ankles, her left hand resting upon a 
shield at her side, while in the right she bore an im- 
age of Nike. 

The Athena Promachus. — The Acropolis was adorned 
with another colossal figure of Athena, in bronze, 
also ascribed to Phidias. It stood in the open air, 
nearly opposite the Propylaea, and was one of the 
first objects seen after passing through the gates 
of the latter. So great was the size of this statue 
that the point of Athena's spear and the crest of 
her helmet were visible far down the Saronic gulf 



THE ERECHTHEUM 



157 



to ships approaching Athens. It was called the 
"Athena Promachus," because it represented the god- 
dess armed and prepared to resist any attack upon 
her people. 

The Erechtheum.— North of the Parthenon and close 
to the northern wall of the Acropolis stands the 
Erechtheum, a common sanctuary of Erechtheus, 
Athena, and Poseidon. It was Poseidon who had 




THE ERECHTHEUM RESTORED 



striven with Athena for the possession of Attica ; 
and Erechtheus, the legendary king of Attica, was 
the especial favorite of that goddess. Consequently 



158 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. X 

these three are continually associated in Athenian 
mythology. The construction of the Erechtheum 
was begun after the Parthenon was finished, and the 
work was still in progress in the year 408 b.c. ; the 
date of its completion is uncertain. It seems to have 
occupied the site of an old shrine destroyed by the 
Persians in 480 B.C. The Erechtheum is the finest 
example of the Ionic order of architecture, as the 
Parthenon is of the Doric. Its form differs from 
that of every known Greek temple. Usually a Greek 
temple was an oblong figure with a portico at each 
extremity. The Erechtheum, on the contrary, though 
oblong in shape, and having a portico at the eastern 
front, had none at its western end, where, however, 
a porch projected north and south from either side. 
This irregularity seems to have been chiefly owing 
to the necessity of preserving the different sanctua- 
ries and religious objects belonging to the ancient 
shrine. The interior of the temple was divided into 
an eastern, a middle, and a western chamber. The 
first of these was designed to receive the ancient 
wooden statue of Athena. The other chambers 
contained an altar of Poseidon, on which sacrifices 
were also offered to Erechtheus ; the spring of salt 
water which Poseidon produced as a token of his 
power at the time of his contest with Athena ; 
and the imprint upon the rock of the trident which 
caused the spring to flow. The north porch of 
the temple, which is covered by a roof resting 
upon six Ionic columns, is noted for the richness 
and elegance of its architectural decoration. In the 
smaller south porch six figures of maidens, called 
Caryatides, are employed instead of columns to 
support the weight of the superstructure. Scanty 




f JOB 



V-4 H yma 



160 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. X 

fragments are still preserved of the frieze of the 
temple. 

The old Temple of Athena. — The foundations of a very 
ancient temple of Athena have been recently dis- 
covered between the Parthenon and the Erechtheum. 
The date of its construction is uncertain. It was 
surely rebuilt by Pisistratus, as has already been 
noted, and was the chief temple of Athena down to 
the time when the Parthenon was built. 

The "Theseum." — Some other objects of interest in 
the city, below the Acropolis, must be briefly de- 
scribed. First, the so-called " Theseum," or temple 
of Theseus, which stands on a low hill to the north 
of the Areopagus, and is the best-preserved Greek 
temple in existence. According to tradition a tem- 
ple of Theseus was built at Athens at the time when 
the bones of the hero were brought back from Scyros 
by Cimon (468 B.C.). It is practically certain, how- 
ever, that the structure which now bears the name 
" Theseum " is really a temple of Hephaestus or Her- 
acles, and was built considerably later than the real 
Theseum, of which no traces have been discovered. 
The so-called " Theseum " is of the Doric order ; it is 
104 feet in length by 45 feet in breadth, and sur- 
rounded by columns. The sculptures of the metopes 
represent the exploits of Heracles and Theseus ; on 
the frieze of the cella scenes of battle are portrayed. 

The Dionysiac Theatre. — The Dionysiac theatre occu- 
pied the slope at the southeastern extremity of the 
Acropolis. The stone seats were firmly fixed upon 
the hill-side in circular rows, which rose one above 
another, the diameter increasing with the height. It 
lias been calculated that the theatre seated 27,500 
persons. It was sufficiently large, therefore, to ac- 



162 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. X 

commodate almost the entire body of Athenian citi- 
zens and metics, as well as the strangers who flocked 
to Athens during the Dionysiac festival. It was not 
roofed, and the spectators from their elevated seats 
had a distinct view of the sea and of the peaked hills 
of Salamis on the horizon. Above them rose the 
Parthenon and the other buildings of the Acropolis, 
so that they sat under the shadow of the ancestral 
gods of the country. 

The Areopagus. — The Areopagus, or Hill of Ares, 
was a rocky heigh topposite the western end of the 
Acropolis. It derived its name from the tradition 
that Ares was here brought to trial before the as- 
sembled gods by Poseidon for murdering Halirrho- 
thius, the son of the latter. It was here that the 
Senate of the Areopagus met, frequently called the 
Upper Senate, to distinguish it from the Senate of 
Five Hundred, which assembled in the valley below. 
The Areopagites sat as judges in the open air, and 
two white stones before them were occupied respec- 
tively by the accuser and the accused. The Areopa- 
gus was the spot where the Apostle Paul preached 
to the men of Athens. 

The Pnyx- — The Pnyx, or place for holding the pub- 
lic assemblies of the Athenians, is probably to be lo- 
cated on the slope of a low rocky hill, a short dis- 
tance southwest of the Areopagus. Projecting from 
the hill, and hewn out of it, is a broad stone platform, 
reached by steps on three sides. To the rear of the 
platform is a rough, cubical block of stone, which 
probably served as an altar. The platform itself 
was the so-called Bema, from which the orators ad- 
dressed the multitude before them. The position of 
the Bema commanded a view of the Propylaea and 



Chap. X THE AGORA AXD THE CERAMICUS 163 

the other magnificent edifices of the Acropolis, while 
beneath it was the city itself, studded with monu- 
ments of Athenian glory. The Athenian orators fre- 
quently roused the national feelings of their audiences 
by pointing to the Propylsea and to the other splendid 
buildings before them. 

The Agora and the Ceramicus. — The Areopagus seems 
to have been surrounded on three sides, north, west, 
and south, by the Agora (or market-place). The 
Agora was included within the deme Ceramicus ; 
hence the term Ceramicus was often used as an 
equivalent for Agora. As a deme, or quarter of the 
city, the Ceramicus was divided by the city wall 
into two parts, the Inner and the Outer Ceramicus. 
The Inner Ceramicus extended from the western 
end of the Acropolis to the principal gate of the 
city, the Dipylon. The Outer Ceramicus, which 
formed a handsome suburb on the northwest of the 
city, was the burial - place of all persons honored 
with a public funeral. Through it ran the road to 
the gymnasium and gardens of the Academy, which 
were situated a little less than a mile from the 
walls. The Academy was the place where Plato 
and his disciples taught. On each side of this road 
were monuments to illustrious Athenians, especially 
those who had fallen in battle. 

The Lyceum. — East of the city, and outside the 
walls, was the Lyceum, a gymnasium dedicated to 
Apollo Lyceus, and celebrated as the place in which 
Aristotle taught. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. FIRST PERIOD, FROM THE 

BEGINNING OF THE AVAR TO THE PEACE OF NICIAS. 
431-421 B.C. 

Significance of the Contest: the Allies on either side.— 
War was now fairly kindled. All Greece looked on 
in suspense as its two leading cities were about to 
engage in a strife of which no man could foresee the 
end ; but the youth, with which both Athens and 
Peloponnesus then abounded, having had no experi- 
ence of the bitter calamities of war, rushed into it 
with ardor. It was a war of principles and races. 
Athens was a champion of democracy, Sparta of aris- 
tocracy ; Athens represented the Ionic tribes, Sparta 
the Dorian ; the former were fond of novelty, the 
latter were conservative and stationary ; Athens had 
the command of the sea, Sparta was stronger upon 
land. On the side of Sparta was ranged the whole 
of Peloponnesus except Argos and Achaia, together 
with the Megarians, Boeotians, Phocians, Opuntian 
Locrians, Ambraciots, Leucadians, and Anactorians. 
The allies of Athens, with the exception of the Thes- 
salians, Acarnanians, Messenians at Naupactus, and 
Plataeans, were all insular, and consisted of the 
Chians, Lesbians, Corcyrreans, and Zacynthians, and 
shortly afterwards of the Cephallenians. To these 
must be added her tributary towns on the coasts of 



B.C. 431 INVASION OF ATTICA 165 

Thrace and Asia Minor, together with all the islands 
north of Crete, except Melos and Thera. 

The First Campaign: Invasion of Attica (431 B.C.). — The 
Peloponnesians commenced the war by invading At- 
tica with a large army, under the command of the 
Spartan king Archidamus. Pericles had instructed 
the inhabitants of Attica to secure themselves and 
their property within the walls of Athens. They 
obeyed his injunctions with reluctance, for the Attic 
population had from the earliest times been strongly 
attached to a rural life. But the circumstances ad- 
mitted of no alternative. Archidamus advanced as 
far as Acharnae, a flourishing Attic deme situated 
only about seven miles from Athens. Here he en- 
camped on a rising ground within sight of the me- 
tropolis, and began to lay waste the country around, 
expecting probably by that means to provoke the 
Athenians to battle. But in this he was disappoint- 
ed. Notwithstanding the murmurs and clamors of 
the citizens, Pericles remained firm, and steadily re- 
fused to venture an engagement in the open field. 
The Peloponnesians retired from Attica after still 
further ravaging the country; and the Athenians re- 
taliated by making descents upon various parts of the 
coasts of Peloponnesus, and ravaging the territory of 
Megara. 

Such were the results of the first campaign. From 
the method in which the war was conducted it had 
become pretty evident that it would prove of long 
duration ; and the Athenians now proceeded to pro- 
vide for this contingency. It was agreed that a re- 
serve fund of 1000 talents should be set apart, which 
was not to be touched except in case of an attack 
upon Athens by sea. Any citizen who proposed to 



166 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. Xf 

make a different use of the fund incurred thereby 
the punishment of death. With the same view it was 
resolved to reserve 100 of their best triremes, fully- 
manned and equipped. 

Towards the winter Pericles delivered, from a lofty 
platform erected in the Outer Ceramicus, the funeral 
oration of those who had fallen in the war. This 
speech, or at all events the substance of it, has been 
preserved by Thucydides, who may possibly have 
heard it pronounced. It is a valuable monument of 
eloquence and patriotism, and particularly interesting 
for the sketch w r hich it contains of Athenian man- 
ners, as well as of the Athenian constitution. 

The Plague at Athens (430 B.C.).— In the following 
year the Peloponnesians, under Archidamus, renewed 
their invasion of Attica. At the same time the Athe- 
nians were attacked by a more insidious and a more 
formidable enemy. The plague broke out in the 
crowded city. This terrible disorder, which was 
supposed to have originated in ^Ethiopia, had al- 
ready desolated Asia and many of the countries 
around the Mediterranean. A great proportion of 
those who were seized perished in from seven to 
nine days. It frequently attacked the mental facul- 
ties, and left even those who recovered from it so en- 
tirely deprived of memory that they could recognize 
neither themselves nor others. The disorder being 
new, the physicians could find no remedy in the re- 
sources of their art. Despair now began to take pos- 
session of the Athenians. Some suspected that the 
Peloponnesians had poisoned the wells ; others at- 
tributed the pestilence to the anger of Apollo. A 
dreadful state of moral dissolution followed. The 
sick were seized with unconquerable despondency ; 



B.C. 430 



ATTACKS UPON PERICLES 



16 7 



while a great part of the population who had hither- 
to escaped the disorder, expecting soon to be attacked 
in turn, abandoned themselves to all manner of ex- 
cess, debauchery, and crime. The numbers carried 
off by the pestilence can hardly be estimated at less 
than a fourth of the whole population. 

Attacks upon Pericles. — Oppressed at once by war 
and pestilence, their lands desolated, their homes 
filled with mourning, it is not surprising that the 
Athenians were seized with rage and despair, or that 
they vented their anger on Pericles, whom they 
deemed the author of their mis- 
fortunes. But that statesman still 
adhered to his plans with unshak- 
en firmness. Though the Lace- 
demonians were in Attica, though 
the plague had already seized on 
Athens, he was vigorously push- 
ing his scheme of offensive op- 
erations. A foreign expedition 
might not only divert the popular 
mind, but would prove beneficial 
by relieving the crowded city of 
part of its population ; and ac- 
cordingly a fleet was fitted out, 
of which Pericles himself took 
the command, which committed 
devastations upon various parts 
of the Peloponnesian coast. But, 
upon returning from this expedition, Pericles found 
the public feeling more exasperated than before. En- 
voys had even been despatched to Sparta to sue for 
peace ; but they were dismissed without a hearing, 
a disappointment which rendered the populace still 




•nEPIKAHIZ. 

2ANDinnoY 

ABH/NAWZ 



PERICLES 



168 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XI 

more furious. Pericles now found it necessary to 
call a public assembly in order to vindicate his con- 
duct, and to encourage the desponding citizens to 
persevere. But, though he succeeded in persuading 
them to prosecute the war, they still continued to 
nourish their feelings of hatred against the great 
statesman. His political enemies, of whom Cleon 
was the chief, took advantage of this state of the 
public mind to bring against him a charge of pec- 
ulation. He was brought to trial on this charge, and 
sentenced to pay a considerable fine. He was also 
deprived of the office of Strategus or general, which 
he had held continuously for fifteen years. Eventu- 
ally, however, a strong reaction occurred in his favor. 
He was re-elected general, and apparently regained 
all the influence he had ever possessed. 

The Death of Pericles (429 B.C.): his Character. — But he 
was not destined long to enjoy this return of popu- 
larity. His life was now closing in, and its end was 
clouded by a long train of domestic misfortunes. 
The epidemic deprived him not only of many per- 
sonal and political friends, but also of several near 
relatives, among whom were his sister and his two 
legitimate sons, Xanthippus and Paralus. The death 
of the latter was a severe blow to him. During the 
funeral ceremonies, as he placed a garland on the 
body of his favorite son, he was completely overpow- 
ered by his feelings, and wept aloud. His ancient 
house was now left without an heir. By Aspasia, 
however, he had an illegitimate son bearing his own 
name, whom the Athenians now legitimized, and thus 
alleviated, as far as lay in their power, the misfort- 
unes of their great leader. 

After this period it was with difficulty that Pericles 



B.C. 429 



THE DEATH OF PERICLES 



169 



was persuaded by his friends to take any active part 
in public affairs ; nor did he survive more than a 
year. An attack of the prevailing epidemic was suc- 
ceeded by a low and lingering fever, from which he 
had not the strength to rally. 
As Pericles lay apparently un- 
conscious on his death -bed, the 
friends who stood around it 
were engaged in recalling his 
exploits. The dying man in- 
terrupted them by remarking, 
" What you praise in me is part- 
ly the result of good fortune, 
and, at all events, common to 
me with many other command- 
ers. What I chiefly pride my- 
self upon you have not noticed — 
no Athenian ever wore mourning 
through me." 

The enormous influence which 
Pericles exercised for so long a pe- 
riod over an ingenious but fickle 

people like the Athenians is an unquestionable proof of 
his intellectual superiority. This hold on the public 
affection is to be attributed to a great extent to his 
extraordinary eloquence. Cicero regards him as the 
first example of an almost perfect orator, at once de- 
lighting the Athenians with his copiousness and grace, 
and overawing them by the force and cogency of his 
diction and arguments. He seems, indeed, to have 
singularly combined the power of persuasion with 
that more rapid and abrupt style of oratory which 
takes an audience by storm and defies all resistance. 
As the accomplished man of genius and the liberal 




ACflACiA 



ASPASIA 



170 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XI 

patron of literature and art, Pericles is worthy of 
the highest admiration. By these qualities he has 
justly given his name to the most brilliant intellect- 
ual epoch that the world has ever seen, But on this 
point we have already touched, and we shall have 
occasion to refer to it hereafter in the sketch of 
Greek literature. 

The Siege of Plataea (429-427 B.C.).— In the third year 
of the war (429 b.c.) Archidamus directed his whol-e 
force against the ill-fated town of Plataea. The siege 
that ensued is one of the most memorable in the an- 
nals of Grecian warfare. Plataea was but a small 
city, and its garrison consisted of only 400 citizens 
and 80 Athenians, together with 110 women to bake 
bread for them. Yet this small force set at defiance 
the whole army of the Peloponnesians. The latter, 
being repulsed in all their attempts to take the place 
by storm, resolved to turn the siege into a blockade, 
and reduce the city by famine. The Plataeans en- 
dured a blockade of two years, during which the 
Athenians attempted nothing for their relief. In 
the second year, however, about half the garrison 
effected their escape ; but the rest were obliged to 
surrender shortly afterwards (427 B.C.). The whole 
garrison, consisting of 200 Plataeans and 25 Atheni- 
ans, were now arraigned before five judges sent from 
Sparta. Their indictment was framed in a way which 
precluded the possibility of escape. They were sim- 
ply asked "Whether, during the present war, they 
had rendered any assistance to the Lacedaemonians 
and their allies?" Each man was called up sepa- 
rately before the judgment-seat, and the same ques- 
tion having been put to him, and, of course, answered 
in the negative, he was immediately led away to exe- 



B.C. 428 THE REVOLT OF MYTILENE 171 

cution. The town of Platrea was transfeiTed to the 
Thebans, who, about a year afterwards, razed it to 
the ground. Thus was Plataea blotted out from the 
map of Greece. In recording its fall we have antici- 
pated the order of chronology. 

The year 429 b.c, which witnessed the beginning 
of the siege of Plataea, was also marked by several 
other events of importance. In the early part of the 
year Potidaea surrendered to the Athenians, after 
a siege of about thirty months. The Athenians de- 
termined to follow up this advantage by attempt- 
ing further conquests in the Chalcidian peninsula ; 
but an expedition which was sent out for this pur- 
pose proved unsuccessful. This reverse was more 
than counterbalanced by a brilliant naval victory 
won by the Athenian admiral Phormio, off Patrae in 
Achaia. With only 20 ships he attacked a fleet of 
47 ships, manned by the Corinthians and other Pe- 
loponnesian allies, destroyed 12 of them, and put the 
rest to flight. Shortly afterwards the Peloponnesian 
fleet was strengthened by reinforcements, and again 
offered battle, only to be once more defeated through 
the skilful generalship of Phormio. 

The Revolt of Mytilene (428 B.C.): its Capitulation.— 
In the fourth year of the war Mytilene, the capital 
of Lesbos, and the greater part of that island re- 
volted from Athens. The Athenians sent out a fleet 
which blockaded Mytilene both b}^ sea and land. 
The Peloponnesians promised their assistance ; but, 
from various causes, their fleet failed to reach the 
place. Meanwhile the provisions of the town were 
exhausted, and it was therefore resolved, as a last 
desperate expedient, to make a sally, and endeavor 
to raise the blockade. With this view, even the 



172 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XI 

men of the lower classes were armed with the full 
armor of the hoplites. But this step produced a 
very different result from what had been expected 
or intended. The great mass of the Mytileneans re- 
garded their own oligarchical government with sus- 
picion, and now threatened that, unless their demands 
were complied with, they would surrender the city 
to the Athenians. In this desperate emergency the 
Mytilenean government perceived that their only 
chance of safety lay in anticipating the people in 
this step. They accordingly opened negotiations with 
Paches, the Athenian commander, and a capitulation 
was agreed upon by which the city was to be surren- 
dered, and the fate of its inhabitants to be decided by 
the Athenian Assembly. 

Debate at Athens over the Disposal of the Prisoners.— 
At Athens the disposal of the prisoners caused great 
debate. It was on this occasion that the leather-seller 
Cleon first comes prominently forward in Athenian 
affairs. If we may trust the picture drawn by the 
comic poet Aristophanes, Cleon was a perfect model 
of a low-born demagogue ; a noisy brawler, insolent 
in his gestures, corrupt and venal in his principles. 
Much allowance must no doubt be made for comic 
license and exaggeration in this portrait, but even a 
caricature must have some grounds of truth for its 
basis. It was this man who took the lead in the de- 
bate respecting the disposal of the Mytileneans, and 
made the savage and horrible proposal to put to death 
the ichole male population of Mytilene of military 
age, and to sell the women and children into slavery. 
This motion he succeeded in carrying, and a trireme 
was immediately despatched to Mytilene, conveying 
orders to Paches to carry the bloody decree into ex- 



B.C. 427 CIVIL WAR IN CORCYRA 173 

ecution. This barbarous decree made no discrimi- 
nation between the innocent and the guilty ; and on 
the morrow so general a feeling prevailed of the hor- 
rible injustice that had been committed, that the mag- 
istrates acceded to the prayer of the Mytilenean en- 
voys and called a fresh assembly. Notwithstanding 
the violent opposition of Cleon, the majority of the 
assembly reversed their former decree, and resolved 
that the Mytileneans already in custody should be 
put upon their trial, but that the remainder of the 
population should be spared. A second trireme was 
immediately despatched to Mytilene, with orders to 
Paches to arrest the execution. The utmost dili- 
gence was needful. The former trireme had a start 
of twenty-four hours, and nothing but exertions al- 
most superhuman would enable the second to reach 
Mytilene early enough to avert the tragical catas- 
trophe. The oarsmen were allowed by turns only 
short intervals of rest, and took their food, con- 
sisting of barley-meal kneaded with wine and oil, as 
they sat at the oar. Happily the weather proved 
favorable ,• and the crew, who had been promised 
large rewards in case they arrived in time, exerted 
themselves to deliver the reprieve, while the crew of 
the preceding vessel had conveyed the order for exe- 
cution with slowness and reluctance. Yet even so 
the countermand came only just in time. The man- 
date was already in the hands of Paches, who was 
taking measures for its execution. The fortifications 
of Mytilene were razed, and her fleet delivered up to 
the Athenians (427 B.C.). 

Civil War in Corcyra (427 B.C.)—The fate of the Pla- 
taeans and the Mytilenean episode afford fearful illus- 
trations of the manners of the age ; but these horrors 



174 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XI 

soon found a parallel in Corcyra. A fearful struggle 
took place in this island between the aristocratical and 
democratical parties. The people at length obtained 
the mastery, and the vengeance which they took on 
their opponents was fearful. The most sacred sanct- 
uaries afforded no protection ; the nearest ties of blood 
and kindred were sacrificed to civil hatred. Fathers 
slew their own sons. These scenes of horror lasted for 
seven da} r s, during which death in every conceivable 
form was busily at work. 

Athens Revisited by the Plague : Events of the Year 426 
B.C. — During the winter of 427-426 B.C. Athens was 
again visited by the plague. It had never, indeed, 
entirely left the city, but since the first two years 
(430 and 429 B.C.), during which it had raged with- 
out intermission, the Athenians had enjoyed a degree 
of relief. The year 426 b.c. was comparatively un- 
eventful. The Peloponnesians advanced as far as 
the Isthmus, intending to invade Attica, as they had 
done every year since the war broke out. But the 
prevalence of earthquakes drove them back again. 
The most noteworthy operations of the year took 
place in western Greece, where the Athenian general, 
Demosthenes, with the assistance of the Acarnanians, 
defeated an allied force of Spartans, Mantineans, and 
Ambraciots. 

The Seizure of Pylus by the Athenians (425 B.C.). — The 
seventh year of the war was marked by an impor- 
tant event. An Athenian fleet was detained by 
bad weather at Pylus in Messenia, on the modern 
Bay of Navarino. Demosthenes, who was on board 
the fleet, thought it an eligible spot on which to es- 
tablish a garrison, since it was a strong position, 
from which they might annoy the Lacedaemonians 



B.C. 425 THE BLOCKADE OF SPHACTERIA 175 

and excite revolt among the Messenians. As the bad 
weather continued for some time, the soldiers on 
board amused themselves, under the directions of 
Demosthenes, in constructing a sort of rude fortifica- 
tion. The nature of the ground was favorable for 
the work, and in six days a wall was thrown up suf- 
ficient for purposes of defence. Demosthenes under- 
took to garrison the place ; and five ships and a few 
hoplites were left behind with him. 

This insult to the Lacedsemonian territory caused 
great alarm and indignation at Sparta. The Pelo- 
ponnesian fleet was ordered to Pylus ; and the Lace- 
daemonian commander, on arriving with the fleet, 
immediately occupied the small, uninhabited, and 
densely wooded island of Sphacteria, which, with the 
exception of two narrow channels on the north and 
south, blocked up the entrance to the bay. Be- 
tween the island and the mainland was a spacious 
basin, in .which the fleet took up its station. The 
Lacedaemonians lost no time in attacking the fortress ; 
but, notwithstanding their repeated attempts, they 
were unable to effect a landing. 

Naval Battle in the Bay of Pylus: the Blockade of Sphac- 
teria. — While they were preparing for another as- 
sault, they were surprised by the appearance of the 
Athenian fleet. They had strangely neglected to se- 
cure the entrances into the bay ; and, when the Athe- 
nian ships came sailing through both the undefended 
channels, many of the Spartan triremes were still 
moored, and part of their crews ashore. In the bat- 
tle which ensued the Athenians won an easy victory. 
Five Peloponnesian ships were captured ; the rest 
were saved by being dragged ashore, where they 
were protected by the Lacedaemonian army. 



176 



HISTORY OF GREECE 



Chap. XI 



Pylii 



N 




MAP OF THE BAY OF PYLUS 



The Athenians, thus masters of the sea, were en- 
abled to blockade the island of Sphacteria, in which 
the flower of the Lacedaemonian army was shut up, 
many of them native Spartans of the highest families. 
In so grave an emergency messengers were sent to 
Sparta for advice. The Ephors themselves immedi- 
ately repaired to the spot ; and so desponding was 
their view of the matter that they saw no issuo from 



B.C. 425 CLEON IS SEXT TO PYLUS 177 

it but a peace. They therefore proposed and obtained 
an armistice for the purpose of opening negotiations 
at Athens. But the Athenians, at the instigation of 
Cleon, insisted upon the most extravagant demands, 
and hostilities were accordingly resumed. They were 
not, however, attended with any decisive result. The 
blockade of Sphacteria began to grow tedious and 
harassing. The force upon it continually received 
supplies of provisions either from swimmers, who 
towed skins filled with linseed and poppy-seed mixed 
with honey, or from Helots, who, induced by the 
promise of freedom, eluded the blockading squadron, 
and landed cargoes on the back of the island. The 
summer, moreover, was fast wearing away, and the 
storms of winter might probably necessitate the rais- 
ing of the blockade altogether. Under these circum- 
stances, Demosthenes began to contemplate a descent 
upon the island ; with which view he called upon the 
neighboring allies for reinforcements. 

Cleon is sent to Pylus. — Meanwhile word had been 
brought to Athens that the blockade was not being 
successfully maintained and that the final escape of 
the Spartans was probable. These tidings were very 
distasteful to the Athenians, who had looked upon 
Sphacteria as their certain prey. They began to re- 
gret having let slip the favorable opportunity for 
making a peace, and to vent their displeasure upon 
Cleon, the director of their conduct on that occasion. 
But Cleon put on a face of brass. He abused the 
Strategi. His political opponent, Nicias, was then 
one of those officers, a man of quiet disposition and 
moderate abilities, bat thoroughly honest and incor- 
ruptible. It was plain to every one in the assembly 

that Cleon referred to him when he exclaimed, "It 
12 



178 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XI 

would be easy enough to take the island if our 
generals were men. If /"were general, I would do it 
at once." This burst of the tanner made the assem- 
bly laugh. He was saluted with cries of " Why don't 
you go, then ?" and Nicias, thinking probably to catch 
his opponent in his own trap, seconded the voice of 
the assembly by offering to place at his disposal 
whatever force he might deem necessary for the en- 
terprise. Cleon at first endeavored to avoid the 
dangerous honor thus thrust upon him. But the 
more he drew back the louder were the assembly 
in calling upon him to accept the office ; and as Ni- 
cias seriously repeated his proposition, he adopted 
with a good grace what there was no longer any 
possibility of evading, and asserted that he would 
take Sphacteria within twenty days, and either kill 
all the Lacedaemonians upon it, or bring them pris- 
oners to Athens. 

The Spartans are made Prisoners: Importance of the 
Event. — Never did general set out upon an enterprise 
under circumstances more singular ; but what was 
still more extraordinary, fortune enabled him to 
make his promise good. In fact, as we have seen, 
Demosthenes had already resolved on attacking the 
island ; and when Cleon arrived at Pylus he found 
everything prepared for the assault. Accident fa- 
vored the enterprise. A fire kindled by some Athe- 
nian sailors, who had landed for the purpose of cook- 
ing their dinner, caught and destroyed the woods 
with which the island was overgrown, and thus de- 
prived the Lacedaemonians of one of their principal 
defences. Nevertheless, such was the awe inspired 
by the reputation of the Spartan arms that Demos- 
thenes considered it necessary to land all the troops 



B.C. 425 CLEOX FULFILS HIS PROMISE 179 

at his command, although the Lacedaemonian force 
consisted of only about 420 men. But this small 
force for a long while kept their assailants at bay ; 
till some Messenians, stealing round by the sea- 
shore, over crags and cliffs, which the Lacedaemonians 
had deemed impracticable, suddenly appeared on the 
high ground which overhung their rear. They now 
began to give way, and would soon have been all 
slain ; but Cleon and Demosthenes, being anxious to 
carry them prisoners to Athens, sent a herald to sum- 
mon them to surrender. The latter, in token of com- 
pliance, dropped their shields and waved their hands 
above their heads. They requested, however, permis- 
sion to communicate with their countrymen on the 
mainland, who, after two or three communications, 
sent them a final message — " to take counsel for 
themselves, but to do nothing disgraceful." The 
survivors then surrendered. They were 292 in num- 
ber, 120 of them being native Spartans belonging to 
the first families. By this surrender the prestige of 
the Spartan arms was in a great degree destroyed. 
The* Spartans were not, indeed, deemed invincible; 
but their previous feats, especially at Thermopylae, 
had inspired the notion that they would rather die 
than yield — an opinion which could now no longer be 
entertained. 

Cleon had thus performed his promise. On the 
day after the victory he and Demosthenes started 
with the prisoners for Athens, where they arrived 
within twenty days from the time of Cleon's depart- 
ure. Altogether, the affair was the most favorable 
for the Athenians that had occurred during the war. 
The prisoners would serve not only for a guarantee 
against future invasions, which might be averted 



180 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XI 

by threatening to put them to death, but also as a 
means for extorting advantageous conditions when- 
ever a peace should be concluded. Nay, the vic- 
tory itself was of considerable importance, since it 
enabled the Athenians to place Pylus in a better 
posture of defence, and, by garrisoning it with Mes- 
senians from Naupactus, to create a stronghold 
whence Laconia might be overrun and ravaged at 
pleasure. The Lacedaemonians themselves were so 
sensible of these things that they sent repeated mes- 
sages to Athens to propose a peace, which the Athe- 
nians altogether disregarded. 

The other events of this year (425 B.C.) were unim- 
portant. The Athenians fought an indecisive battle 
with the Corinthians and committed the usual ravages 
on the Peloponnesian coast. An Athenian fleet also 
carried on successful operations on the western coast 
of Greece. 

Nicias captures Cythera: the Battle of Delium (424 B.C.). 
— The eighth year of the war opened with brilliant 
prospects for the Athenians. Nicias, at the head of 
a fleet of sixty ships, captured Cythera, an island 
just south of Laconia, and from this point of vant- 
age made repeated descents upon the mainland. He 
even defeated a small detachment of the enemy 
and raised a trophy upon Spartan soil. An attempt 
on the part of the Athenians to gain possession of 
Megara proved unsuccessful. But this was a matter 
of comparatively small importance. Elated with 
their continued good fortune, the Athenians now 
aimed at nothing less than the recovery of all the 
possessions which they had held before the Thirty 
Years' Truce. For this purpose they planned an ex- 
pedition against Boeotia. But their good fortune 



B.C. 424 ATHENIAN LOSSES IN THE NORTH 181 

had now reached its culminating-point. They were 
defeated by the Boeotians with great loss at the bat- 
tle of Delium, which was the greatest and most de- 
cisive engagement fought daring the first period of 
the war. An interesting feature of the battle is that 
both Socrates and his pupil Alcibiades were engaged 
in it, the former among the hoplites, the latter in 
the cavalry. Socrates distinguished himself by his 
bravery, and won the enthusiastic admiration of Al- 
cibiades, who, being mounted, protected his retreat. 

Athenian Losses in the North: Brasidas — This disas- 
trous battle was speedily followed by the overthrow 
of the Athenian empire in Thrace. At the request 
of Perdiccas, king of Macedonia, and of the Chalcid- 
ian towns, which had sued for help against the Athe- 
nians, Brasidas had been sent by the Lacedaemonian 
government into Macedonia, at the head of a small 
body of troops. This able commander had conceived 
the idea that if Athens were to be humbled the at- 
tack must be directed against the allied cities which 
were the source of her strength. On his arrival in 
Macedonia he proclaimed that he was come to de- 
liver the Grecian cities from the tyrannous yoke of 
Athens. His bravery, his kind and conciliating de- 
meanor, his probity, moderation, and good faith, 
soon gained him the respect and love of the allies 
of Athens in that quarter. Acanthus and Stagirus 
hastened to open their gates to him ; and early in 
the ensuing winter, by means of forced marches, he 
suddenly and unexpectedly appeared before the im- 
portant Athenian colony of Amphipolis on the Stry- 
mon. The Athenian party in that town sent a mes- 
sage for assistance to Thucydides, the historian, who 
was then general in those parts. Thucydides hast- 



182 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XI 

ened with seven ships from Thasos, and succeeded in 
securing Eion at the mouth of the Strymon ; but 
Amphipolis, which lay a little higher up the river, 
allured by the favorable terms offered, had already 
surrendered to Brasidas. For his want of vigilance 
on this occasion, Thucydides was sentenced to banish- 
ment, probably on the motion of Cleon, and spent the 
following twenty years of his life in exile. Brasidas 
also captured the important city of Torone, while 
other towns surrendered to him of their own accord. 

A Year's Truce: Fruitless Negotiations (423 B.C.). — In 
the beginning of the following year a truce for one 
year was concluded between the Athenians and the 
Peloponnesians, with the intention on both sides of 
employing this time to arrange the terms of a gen- 
eral peace. But the negotiations which were carried 
on led to no result, mainly on account of the con- 
tinued activity of Brasidas in the north. He took 
possession of two towns, Scione and Mende, which 
had revolted from Athens after the conclusion of 
the truce, and refused to give them up to the Atheni- 
ans. The latter, accordingly, sent an expedition to 
the Chalcidian peninsula, which recaptured Mende 
and laid siege to Scione while Brasidas was assisting 
Perdiccas, king of Macedonia, against his neighbors 
to the west. 

Cleon in Macedonia: the Battle of Amphipolis (422 B.C.).— 
In the following year at the expiration of this nomi- 
nal truce, Cleon was sent to Macedonia to recover 
the Athenian dependencies, and especially Amphipo- 
lis. He encamped on a hill on the eastern side 
of the town. Having deserted the peaceful art of 
dressing hides for the more hazardous trade of war, 
in which he was almost totally inexperienced, and 



B.C. 422 THE BATTLE OF AMPHIPOLIS 183 

having now no Demosthenes to direct his movements, 
Cleon was thrown completely off his guard by a very 
ordinary stratagem on the part of Brasidas, who con- 
trived to give the town quite a deserted and peaceful 
appearance. Cleon suffered his troops to fall into dis- 
order, till he was suddenly surprised by the astound- 
ing news that Brasidas was preparing for a sally. 
Cleon at once resolved to retreat. But his skill was 
unequal to his valor. He conducted his retreat in the 
most disorderly manner. His left wing had already 
filed off, and his right wing, with straggling ranks, 
was in the act of following, when Brasidas ordered 
the gates of the town to be flung open, and, rushing 
out at the head of only 150 chosen soldiers, charged 
the retreating columns in the flank. The attack was 
immediately followed up by the rest of the Pelopon- 
nesian troops under the command of Clearidas. The 
Athenians were immediately routed ; but Brasidas 
received a mortal wound, and was carried off the 
field. Though his men were forming on the hill, 
Cleon fled as fast as he could on the approach of the 
enemy, but was pursued and slain by a Thracian pel- 
tast. In spite, however, of the disgraceful flight of 
their general, the right wing maintained their ground 
for a considerable time, till some cavalry and peltasts 
attacked them in flank and rear, and compelled them 
to fly. On assembling again at Eion it was found 
that 600 Athenians had been slain. Brasidas was 
carried into Amphipolis, and lived long enough to 
receive the tidings of his victory. He was interred 
within the walls with great military pomp, in front 
of what thenceforth became the chief agora ; he was 
proclaimed cecist, or founder of the town, and was 
worshipped as a hero with annual games and sacrifices. 



184 



HISTORY OF GREECE 



Chap. XI 



The Peace of Nicias (421 B.C.)- — By the death of 
Brasidas and Cleon, the two chief obstacles to a peace 
were removed ; for the former loved war for the sake 
of its glory, the latter for the handle which it afford- 
ed for agitation and for attacking his political oppo- 
nents. The Athenian Nicias and the Spartan king 
Pleistoanax zealously forwarded the negotiations, 
and in the spring of the year 421 b.c. a peace of fifty 
years, commonly called the Peace of Nicias, was con- 
cluded on the basis of a mutual restitution of prison- 
ers and places captured during the war. 




COIN OF AMPHIPOLIS 



CHAPTER XII 

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. — SECOND PERIOD, FROM 
THE PEACE OF NICIAS TO THE DEFEAT OF THE 
ATHENIANS IN SICILY, 421-413 B.C. 

Discontent among the Allies of Sparta : the Argive Con- 
federacy. — The Corinthians, Boeotians, Eleans, and 
Megarians, all allies of Sparta, were dissatisfied with 
the peace which she had concluded ; and the Corin- 
thians conceived the idea of reviving the ancient pre- 
tensions of Argos, and making her the head of a new 
confederacy, which should include all Greece, with 
the exception of Sparta and Athens. Once project- 
ed, the league soon became a reality, and was joined 
by the Eleans, the Mantineans, and the Chalcidians. 

Negotiations and Embassies: Alcibiades. — Between Spar- 
ta and Athens themselves matters were far from be- 
ing on a satisfactory footing. Sparta confessed her 
inability to compel the Boeotians and Corinthians to 
accede to the peace, or even to restore the town of 
Amphipolis. Athens consequently refused to surren- 
der Pylus, though she removed the Helots and Mes- 
senians from the fortress. Now followed a continual 
series of embassies between the various states, espe- 
cially Sparta, Athens, Beeotia, Corinth, and Argos. 
Negotiations were begun only to be broken off. It 
was a contest of diplomacy and duplicity in which 
no one of the participants gained a decided advan- 



186 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XII 

tage. In these negotiations and the discussions con- 
sequent upon them in the Athenian Assembly Alcibia- 
des took a prominent part. This extraordinary man 
had already obtained immense influence at Athens. 
Young, rich, handsome, profligate, and clever, Al- 
cibiades was the very model of an Athenian man of 
fashion. In lineage he was a striking contrast to the 
plebeian orators of the day. He traced his paternal 
descent from Ajax, while on his mother's side he 
claimed relationship with the Alcmaeonida?, and con- 
sequently with Pericles. On the death of his father, 
Clinias, Pericles had become his guardian. From 
early youth the conduct of Alcibiades was marked 
by violence, recklessness, and vanity. He delighted 
in astonishing the more sober portion of the citizens 
by his capricious and extravagant feats. He was ut- 
terly destitute of morality, whether public or private. 
But his vices were partly redeemed by some brilliant 
qualities. He possessed both boldness of design and 
vigor of action ; and, though scarcely more than thirty 
at the time of which we are now speaking, he had al- 
ready distinguished himself by his bravery. He was 
an accomplished orator, and he had made his intimacy 
with Socrates the means of acquiring that clever skill 
in argument which was so highly appreciated by the 
Athenians. 

Alcibiades Outwits the Spartan Envoys. — An incident 
from the history of the year 420 b.c. will serve to 
illustrate Alcibiades' political methods. A Spartan 
embassy had come to Athens to ask the surrender of 
Pylus and to urge the Athenians against concluding 
an alliance with Argos. The ambassadors had been 
so favorably received by the Senate that Alcibiades, 
alarmed at the prospect of their success, resorted to a 



B.C. 420 ATHENS AND THE ARGIVE CONFEDERACY 187 

trick in order to defeat it. He called upon the Lace- 
demonian envoys, and advised them not to tell the 
Assembly that they were furnished with full powers, 
as in that case the people would bully them into ex- 
travagant concessions, but rather to say that they 
were merely come to discuss and report. He prom- 
ised, if they did so, to speak in their favor, and in- 
duce the Assembly to grant the restitution of Pylus, 
to which he himself had hitherto been the chief ob- 
stacle. Accordingly, w T hen the ambassadors were in- 
troduced into the Assembly, Alcibiades blandly asked 
them on what footing they came, and what were their 
powers. In reply to these questions the ambassadors, 
who only a day or two before had told the Senate 
that they were come as plenipotentiaries, now pub- 
licly declared, in the face of the Assembly, that they 
were not authorized to conclude, but only to nego- 
tiate and discuss. At this announcement those who 
had heard their previous declaration could scarcely 
believe their ears. A universal burst of indignation 
broke forth at this exhibition of Spartan duplicity ; 
while, to wind up the scene, Alcibiades, affecting to 
be more surprised than any, distinguished himself 
by being the loudest and bitterest in his invectives 
against the perfidy of the Lacedemonians. 

Athens in Alliance with the Arrive Confederacy (420 B.C.). 
— Shortly afterwards Alcibiades procured the comple- 
tion of a treaty of alliance for 100 years with Argos, 
Elis, and Mantinea. Thus were the Grecian states in- 
volved in a complicity of separate and often appar- 
ently opposite alliances. It was evident that allies 
so heterogeneous could not long hold together ; nev- 
ertheless, nominally at least, peace was at first ob- 
served. 



188 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XII 

The Battle of Mantinea (418 B.C.). — The growing ambi- 
tion and success of Alcibiades prompted him to carry 
his schemes against Sparta into the very heart of Pelo- 
ponnesus,without, however, openly violating the peace. 

The Laceda3monians now found it necessary to act 
with more vigor ; and accordingly, in 418 B.C., they 
assembled a large army, under the command of the 
Spartan king, Agis. Agis marched through Arcadia 
into Argolis, intending to punish the Argives for 
making war upon the Epidaurians, who were allies 
of Sparta. The opposing armies met in the plain of 
Argos, the Spartans having been joined by strong 
detachments from their allied states. But on the eve 
of battle a forty days' truce was patched up, and Agis 
returned to Sparta. When, however, the Argives with 
their allies marched into Arcadia, captured Orcho- 
menus and threatened Tegea, Agis led his army 
northward again, and a great battle ensued near Man- 
tinea, in which the Spartans gained a brilliant vic- 
tory. This battle and that of Delium were the two 
most important engagements that had yet been 
fought in the Peloponnesian war. Although the 
Athenians had fought on the side of the Argives at 
Mantinea, the peace between Sparta and Athens con- 
tinued to be nominally observed. 

The Conquest of Melos (416 B.C.). — Two years later 
the Athenians attacked and conquered Melos, the 
only island among the Cyclades which had not been 
subject to the Athenian supremacy. The Melians 
having rejected all the Athenian overtures for a vol- 
untary submission, their capital was blockaded by 
sea and land, and finally compelled to surrender. 
Thereupon all the adult males were put to death, the 
women and children sold into slavery, and the island 



B.C. 415 WAR BETWEEN EGESTA AND SELINUS 189 

colonized afresh by 500 Athenians. This horrible 
proceeding was the more indefensible as the Athe- 
nians, having attacked the Melians in full peace, 
could not pretend that they were justified by the 
custom of war in slaying the prisoners. It was the 
crowning act of insolence and cruelty displayed dur- 
ing their empire, which from this period began rap- 
idly to decline. 

War between Egesta and Sslinus : the Athenians resolve 
to aid the Egestaeans (415 B.C.). — The event destined to 
produce that catastrophe — the intervention of the 
Athenians in the affairs of Sicily — was already in 
progress. A quarrel had broken out between Egesta 
and Selinus, both which cities were situated near the 
western extremity of Sicily ; and Selinus, having ob- 
tained the aid of Syracuse, was pressing very hard 
upon the Egestaeans. The latter appealed to the in- 
terests of the Athenians rather than to their sympa- 
thies. They represented how great a blow it would 
be to Athens if the Dorians became predominant in 
Sicily and joined the Peloponnesian confederacy; and 
they undertook, if the Athenians would send an ar- 
mament to their assistance, to provide the necessary 
funds for the prosecution of the war. Their most 
powerful advocate was Alcibiades, whose ambitious 
views are said to have extended even to the conquest 
of Carthage. The quieter and more prudent Nicias 
threw his weight into the opposite scale. But the 
Athenian Assembly, dazzled by the idea of so splen- 
did an enterprise, decided on despatching a large fleet 
under Nicias, Alcibiades, and Lamachus, with the de- 
sign of assisting Egesta, and of establishing the influ- 
ence of Athens throughout Sicily, by whatever means 
might be found practicable. 



190 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XII 

Preparations for the Sicilian Expedition. — The prepara- 
tions for the undertaking were now pressed on with 
the greatest ardor. Young and old, rich and poor, 
all vied with one another to obtain a share in the 
expedition. Six years of comparative peace had ac- 
cumulated a fresh supply both of men and money, 
and the merchants of Athens embarked in the enter- 
prise as in a trading expedition. It was only a few 
of the wisest heads that escaped the general fever 
of excitement. Meanwhile a sudden and mysterious 
event converted all these exulting feelings into gloomy 
foreboding. 

The Mutilation of the Hermse. — On the streets of Ath- 
ens, at the doors of private houses, before temples, 
and in other public places, stood Hermse, or statues 
of the god Hermes, consisting of a bust of that deity 
surmounting a quadrangular pillar of marble about 
the heisrht of the human figure. When the Athe- 
nians rose one morning in May, 415 B.C., it was found 
that nearly all of these figures had been mutilated 
daring the night. The act inspired political as well 
as religious alarm. It seemed to indicate a widespread 
conspiracy, for so sudden and general a mutilation 
must have been the work of many hands. The sac- 
rilege might only be a preliminary attempt of some 
powerful citizen to seize the despotism, and suspicion 
pointed its finger at Alcibiades. Active measures 
were taken and large rewards offered for the discov- 
ery of the perpetrators. A public board was ap- 
pointed to examine witnesses, which did not, indeed, 
succeed in eliciting anv facts bearing on the actual 
subject of inquiry, but did obtain evidence respect- 
ing similar acts of impiety committed at previous 
times in drunken frolics. In these Alcibiades him- 



B.C. 415 ARREST AND ESCAPE OF ALCIBIADES 191 

self was charged with being implicated ; and he was 
further accused of having profaned the Eleusinian 
mysteries by giving a representation of them in a 
private house. Alcibiades denied these accusations, 
and implored the people to have them investigated 
at once. His enemies, however, had sufficient influ- 
ence to get the inquiry postponed till his return, thus 
keeping the charges hanging over his head, and gain- 
ing time to poison the public mind against him. 

The Departure of the Expedition (415 B.C.)- — The Athe- 
nian fleet, consisting of 100 triremes, and having on 
board 1500 chosen Athenian hoplites, as well as aux- 
iliaries, at length set sail about midsummer, and pro- 
ceeded to Corcyra, where it was joined by the other 
allies. Mustered now in its full strength, the expedi- 
tion consisted of 134 triremes and 5100 hoplites, be- 
sides light-armed troops, slingers, and archers. Upon 
arriving at Rhegium the generals received the dis- 
couraging news that Egesta was unable to contribute 
more than thirty talents. A council of war was now 
held ; and it was finally resolved to gain as many 
allies as possible among the Greek cities in Sicily, 
and, having thus ascertained what assistance could 
be relied upon, to attack Syracuse and Selinus. 

The Arrest of Alcibiades: his Escape. — Naxos joined 
the Athenians, and shortly afterwards they obtained 
possession by surprise of the important city of Ca- 
tana, which was now made the headquarters of the 
armament. Here an unwelcome message greeted Al- 
cibiades. After his departure from Athens the peo- 
ple had put to death a number of prominent citizens 
who were accused, though on the weakest evidence, 
of having had a share in the mutilation of the Hermae. 
This affair disposed of, they determined to investigate 



192 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XII 

the charge brought against Alcibiades of profaning 
the Eleusinian mysteries. Accordingly the state-ves- 
sel Salaminia was despatched to Sicily, carrying the 
decree of the Assembly for Alcibiades to come home 
and take his trial. The commander of the Salaminia, 
however, was instructed not to seize his person, but 
to allow him to sail in his own trireme. Alcibiades 
availed himself of this privilege to effect his escape. 
When the ships arrived at Thurii, in Italy, he ab- 
sconded, and contrived to elude the search that was 
made for him. Nevertheless, though absent, he was 
arraigned at Athens, and condemned to death ; his 
property was confiscated ; and the Eumolpidoe, who 
presided over the celebration of the Eleusinian mys- 
teries, pronounced upon him the curses of the gods. 
On hearing of his sentence, Alcibiades is said to have 
exclaimed, " I will show them that I am still alive." 

Nicias Defeats the Syracusans. — Meanwhile the summer 
had ended and the Athenians had accomplished little 
or nothing, if we except the acquisition of Naxos and 
Catana. Nicias now resolved to make an attempt 
upon Syracuse. By a false message that the Catanse- 
ans were ready to assist in expelling the Athenians, 
he induced the Syracusans to proceed thither in great 
force, and he availed himself of their absence to sail 
with his whole fleet into the Great Harbor of Syra- 
cuse, where he landed near the mouth of the Anapus. 
The Syracusans, when they found that they had been 
deceived at Catana, marched back and offered Nicias 
battle in his new position. The latter accepted it, and 
gained the victory ; after which he retired to Catana, 
and subsequently to Naxos into winter-quarters. 

Alcibiades at Sparta. — The Syracusans employed the 
winter (415-414 b.c.) in preparations for defence. 



B.C. 414 THE TOPOGRAPHY OF SYRACUSE 193 

They also sent requests for assistance to Corinth and 
Sparta, in the latter of which towns they found an 
unexpected advocate. Alcibiades, having crossed from 
Thurii to Cyllene in Peloponnesus, received a special 
invitation to proceed to Sparta. Here he revealed all 
the plans of Athens, and exhorted the Lacedaemonians 
to frustrate them. For this purpose he advised them 
to send an army into Sicily under the command of a 
Spartan general, and, by way of causing a diversion, 
to establish a fortified post at Decelea in the Attic 
territory. The Spartans fell in with these views, and 
resolved to send a force to the assistance of Syracuse 
in the spring, under the command of Gylippus. 

The Situation and Topography of Syracuse. — Nicias, 
having received reinforcements from Athens, recom- 
menced hostilities as soon as the season allowed, and 
resolved on besieging Syracuse. That town consisted 
of two parts — the inner and the outer city. The for- 
mer of these — the original settlement — was situated 
upon the island of Ortygia ; the latter, afterwards 
known by the name of Achradina, covered the high 
ground of the peninsula north of Ortygia, and was 
completely separate from the inner city. The island 
of Ortygia, to which the modern city is now confined, 
is of an oblong shape, about two and a half miles in 
circumference, lying between the Great Harbor on 
the west and the Small Harbor on the east, and sepa- 
rated from the mainland by a narrow channel. The 
Great Harbor is a splendid bay, about five miles in 
circumference, and the Small Harbor was spacious 
enough to receive a large fleet of ships of war. The 
outer city was surrounded on the north and east by 
the sea, and by sea-walls which rendered an assault 
on that side almost impracticable. On the land side 

13 



194 



HISTORY OF GREECE 



Chap. XII 




MAP OF SYRACUSE 



it was defended by a wall, and partly also by the 
nature of the ground, which in some parts was very 
steep. West of the wall of the outer city were two 
unfortified suburbs, which, at a later period, were in- 
cluded within the walls of Syracuse under the names 
of Tycha and Neapolis. Between these two suburbs 
the ground rose in a gentle acclivity to the plateau 
called Epipolae. 

Nicias seizes Epipolae and begins a Wail of Circumvalla- 
tion (414 B.C.)- — It was from the high ground of 



B.C. 414 GYLIPPUS ARRIVES IN SICILY 195 

Epipolae that Syracuse was most exposed to attack. 
Nicias landed at Leon, a place upon the Bay of Thap- 
sus, at the distance of only six or seven stadia from 
Epipolse, took possession of Epipola?, and erected on 
the summit a fort called Labdalum. Then coming 
farther down the hilr towards Syracuse, he built an- 
other fort at a place called Syka. From the latter 
point he commenced his line of circumvallation, one 
wall extending southwards from Syka to the Great 
Harbor, and the other wall running northwards to the 
outer sea. The Athenians succeeded in completing 
the circumvallation towards the south, but in one of 
their many engagements with the Syracusans they 
lost the gallant Lamachus. At the same time, the 
Athenian fleet entered the Great Harbor, where it 
was henceforth permanently established. The north- 
ern wall was not yet completed, but along almost the 
whole line of its projected course the materials for 
constructing it had been collected. Nicias, who by 
the death of Lamachus had become sole commander, 
seemed now on the point of succeeding. The Syra- 
cusans were so sensible of their inferiority in the 
field that they no longer ventured to show them- 
selves outside the walls. They began to contem- 
plate surrender, and even sent messages to Nicias 
to treat of the terms. This caused the Athenian 
commander to indulge in a false confidence of sue- 
cess, and consequent apathy ; and the army having 
lost the active and energetic Lamachus, operations 
were no longer carried on with the requisite activity. 
Gylippus Arrives in Sicily: the Athenians on the Defen- 
sive — It was in this state of affairs that the Spartan 
commander Gylippus passed over into Italy with a 
little squadron of four ships, with the view merely 



196 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XII 

of preserving the Greek cities in that country, sup- 
posing that Syracuse and, with her, the other Greek 
cities in Sicily were irretrievably lost. At Locri he 
learned to his great surprise and satisfaction that the 
Athenian wall of circumvallation at Syracuse had not 
yet been completed on the northern side. He now 
sailed through the Strait of Messina, and arrived at 
Him era on the north coast of Sicily. Here he began 
to levy an army, which the magic of the Spartan 
name soon enabled him to gather ; and in a short 
time he was in a condition to march to S} r racuse with 
about 3000 men. The Syracusans now dismissed all 
thoughts of surrender, and went out boldly to meet 
Gylippus, who marched towards the city over the 
heights of Epipolae, which the supineness of Nicias 
had left unguarded. Halting near the Athenians, 
Gylippus sent a message to them, allowing them a 
five days' truce to collect their effects and evacuate 
the island. Nicias returned no answer to this insult- 
ing proposal ; but the operations of Gylippus soon 
showed that the tide of affairs was really turned. 
His first exploit was to capture the Athenian fort at 
Labdalum, which made him master of Epipolse. He 
next began constructing a counter-wall to intersect 
the Athenian wall on the northern side. Nicias 
now felt that the attempt to blockade Syracuse with 
his present force was hopeless. He therefore re- 
solved to occupy the headland of Plemmyrium, the 
southern point of the entrance to the Great Harbor, 
which would be a convenient station for watching 
the enemy, as well as for facilitating the introduction 
of supplies. Here he accordingly erected three forts 
and formed a naval station. Meanwhile Gylippus was 
reinforced by the arrival of twelve triremes from 



B.C. 413 THE SPARTAXS OCCUPY DECELEA 197 

Corinth, Leucas, and Ambracia. On land some slight 
engagements took place, in which the balance of ad- 
vantage was in favor of the Syracusans. Moreover, 
by their change of station the Athenians were now 
a besieged rather than a besieging force. Their tri- 
remes were becoming leaky, and their soldiers and 
sailors were constantly deserting. Nicias himself had 
fallen into a bad state of health ; and in this discour- 
aging condition of affairs he wrote to Athens request- 
ing to be recalled, and insisting strongly on the ne- 
cessity of sending reinforcements. Gylippus, on the 
other hand, summoned reinforcements both from 
Peloponnesus and from the Sicilian towns which had 
hitherto taken no part in the contest, but now, on 
seeing the turn that affairs had taken, were ready to 
join the Syracusans. 

The Spartans Occupy Decelea (413 B.C.).— The Athe- 
nians refused to recall Nicias, but they determined 
on sending a large reinforcement to Sicily, and chose 
Demosthenes and Eurymedon to share the command 
with Nicias. Eurymedon set out for Syracuse dur- 
ing the winter (414-413 b.c.) with a fleet of ten ships ; 
this small contingent he turned over to Nicias, and 
himself sailed back to the Grecian coast to join De*- 
mosthenes, who was making preparations to follow in 
the spring with further reinforcements. The news 
of these fresh and extensive preparations incited the 
Lacedaemonians to more vigorous action. The peace, 
if such it can be called, was now openly broken ; and 
in the spring of 413 b.c. the Lacedaemonians, under 
King Agis, invaded Attica itself, and, following the 
advice of Alcibiades, established themselves perma- 
nently at Decelea, a place situated about 1 4 miles north 
of Athens, and commanding the Athenian plain. The 



198 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XII 

city was thus placed in a state of siege. Scarcity began 
to be felt within the walls ; the revenues were falling 
off, while on the other hand expenses were increasing. 

Naval Battles in the Great Harbor.— Meanwhile in Sic- 
ily the Syracusans had gained such confidence that 
they even ventured on a naval engagement with the 
Athenians. In the first battle the Athenians were 
victorious ; Gylippus, however, improved his oppor- 
tunity while the Athenians were fighting on board 
their ships, and captured the three forts on the head- 
land of Plemmyrium, together with a quantity of 
provisions and equipments. Not long afterwards the 
Syracusans again offered battle to the Athenians, and 
after an engagement of two days' duration defeated 
them. The Athenians, having lost Plemmyrium, 
were now obliged to haul up their ships in the inner- 
most part of the Great Harbor, under the lines of 
their fortified camp. A still more serious disaster 
than the loss of the battle was the loss of their naval 
reputation. It was evident that the Athenians had 
ceased to be invincible on the sea ; and the Syra- 
cusans no longer despaired of overcoming them on 
their own element. 

The Arrival of Reinforcements : Athenian Reverses. — Such 
was the state of affairs when, to the astonishment of 
the Syracusans, a fresh Athenian fleet of 73 triremes, 
under Demosthenes and Eurymedon, entered the Great 
Harbor with all the pomp and circumstance of war. 
It had on board a force of 5000 hoplites, of whom 
about a quarter w r ere Athenians, and a great number 
of light- armed troops. The active and enterprising 
character of Demosthenes led him to adopt more vig- 
orous measures than those which had been hitherto 
pursued. He saw at once that while Epipola} re- 



B.C. 413 THE FATAL ECLIPSE 199 

mained in the possession of the Syracusans there was 
no hope of taking their city, and he therefore directed 
all his efforts to the recapture of that position. But 
his attempts were unavailing. He was defeated not 
only in an open assault upon the Syracusan counter- 
wall, but in a nocturnal attempt to carry the heights 
by surprise. These reverses were aggravated by the 
breaking out of sickness among the troops. Demos- 
thenes now proposed to return home and assist in 
expelling the Lacedaemonians from Attica, instead of 
pursuing an enterprise which seemed to be hopeless. 
But Nicias, who feared to return to Athens with the 
stigma of failure, refused to give his consent to this 
step. Demosthenes then urged Nicias at least to sail 
immediately out of the Great Harbor, and take up 
a position either at Thapsus or at Catana, where 
they could obtain abundant supplies of provisions, 
and would have an open sea for the manoeuvres of 
their fleet. But even to this proposal Nicias would 
not consent ; and the army and navy remained in their 
former position. Soon afterwards, however, Gylippus 
received such large reinforcements that Nicias found 
it necessary to adopt the advice of his colleague. Prep- 
arations w r ere secretly made for their departure ; the 
enemy appear to have had no suspicion of their in- 
tention, and they were on the point of quitting their 
ill-fated quarters, when, on the night of August 27th, 
413 B.C., an eclipse of the moon took place. The sooth- 
sayers who were consulted said that the army must 
wait thrice nine days before it could quit its present 
position ; and the devout and superstitious Nicias 
forthwith resolved to abide by this decision. 

The Athenians Defeated and Blockaded in the Great Har- 
bor.— Meanwhile the intention of the Athenians be- 



200 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XII 

came known to the Syracusans, who determined to 
strike a blow before their enemy escaped. They 
accordingly attacked the Athenian station both by 
sea and land. On land the attack of Gylippus was 
repulsed ; but at sea the Athenian fleet was com- 
pletely defeated, and Eurymedon, who commanded 
the right division, was slain. The spirits of the 
Syracusans rose with their victories ; and though 
they would formerly have been content with the mere 
retreat of the Athenians, they now resolved on ef- 
fecting their utter destruction. With this view they 
blocked up the entrance of the Great Harbor with a 
line of vessels moored across it. All hope seemed 
now to be cut off from the Athenians, unless they 
could succeed in forcing this line and thus effecting 
their escape. The Athenian fleet still numbered 110 
triremes, which Nicias furnished with grappling-irons, 
in order to bring the enemy to close quarters, and 
then caused a large proportion of his land-forces to 
embark. 

The Last Battle.— Never, perhaps, was a battle fought 
under circumstances of such intense interest or wit- 
nessed by so many spectators vitally concerned in 
the result. The basin of the Great Harbor, about 
five miles in circumference, in which nearly 200 ships 
were about to engage, was lined with spectators. A 
considerable portion of the Syracusan fleet was de- 
tailed to guard the barrier at the mouth of the har- 
bor. Hither the first and most impetuous attack of 
the Athenians was directed. They failed, however, 
to break the barrier, and the battle then became gen- 
eral. The shouts of the combatants, and the crash of 
the vessels as they were driven together, resounded 
over the water, and were answered on shore by the 



B.C. 413 THE RETREAT AND SURRENDER 201 

cheers or waitings of the spectators as their friends 
were victorious or vanquished. For a long time the 
battle was maintained with heroic courage and du- 
bious result. At length, as the Athenian vessels be- 
gan to yield and make back towards the shore, a uni- 
versal shriek of horror and despair arose from the 
Athenian army, while shouts of joy and victory were 
raised from the pursuing vessels, and were echoed 
back by the Syracusans on land. As the Athenian 
vessels neared the shore their crews leaped out and 
made for the camp, while the boldest of the land 
army rushed forward to protect the ships from being 
seized by the enemy. The Athenians succeeded in 
saving only 60 ships, or about half their fleet. The 
Syracusan fleet, however, had been reduced to less than 
50 ships; and Kicias and Demosthenes, as a last hope 
of escape, exhorted their men to make another attempt 
to break the enemy's line, and force their way out of 
the harbor. But the courage of the crews was so 
completely damped that they positively refused to 
re-embark. 

The Retreat and Surrender of the Athenians. — The Athe- 
nian army still numbered 40,000 men ; and, as all 
chance of escape by sea was now hopeless, it was re- 
solved to retreat by land to some friendly city, and 
there defend themselves against the attacks of the 
Syracusans. As the soldiers turned to quit that fatal 
encampment, the sense of their own woes was for a 
moment suspended by the sight of their unburied 
comrades, who seemed to reproach them with the 
neglect of a sacred duty ; but still more by the wait- 
ings and entreaties of the wounded, who clung around 
their knees and implored not to be abandoned to cer- 
tain destruction. Amid this scene of universal woe 



202 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XII 

and dejection a fresh and unwonted spirit of ener- 
gy and heroism seemed to be infused into Nicias. 
Though suffering from an incurable complaint, he was 
everywhere seen marshalling his troops, and encour- 
aging them by his exhortations. The march was di- 
rected towards the interior of the island. The army 
was formed into a hollow square, with the baggage 
in the middle, Nicias leading the van, and Demos- 
thenes bringing up the rear. The road ascended 
through a ravine over a steep hill called the Acraean 
cliff, on which the Syracusans had fortified themselves. 
After spending two days in vain attempts to force 
this position, Nicias and Demosthenes resolved dur- 
ing the mVht to strike off to the left towards the 

CD CD 

southern coast of the island. But they were over- 
taken, surrounded by superior forces, and compelled 
to surrender at discretion. Out of the 40,000 who 
started from the camp, only 7000 were left at the end 
of the eight days' march ; the rest had either deserted 
or been slain. The prisoners were sent to work in 
the stone -quarries of Achradina. Here they were 
crowded together without any shelter, and with scarce- 
ly provisions enough to sustain life. The numerous 
bodies of those who died were left to putrefy where 
they had fallen, till the place became an intolerable 
centre of stench and infection. The survivors were 
at length sold as slaves. Nicias and Demosthenes 
were condemned to death, in spite of all the efforts 
of Gylippus to save them. 

Such was the end of two of the largest and best- 
appointed armaments that had ever gone forth from 
Athens. Nicias, as we have seen, was from the first 
opposed to the expedition in w r hich they were em- 
ployed, as pregnant with the most dangerous conse- 



B.C. 413 



CAUSES OF FAILURE 



208 



quences to Athens ; and, though it must be admitted 
that in this respect his views were sound, it cannot, 
at the same time, be denied that his own want of 
energy and his incompetence as a general were the 
chief causes of the failure of the undertaking. His 
mistakes involved the fall of Demosthenes, an officer 
of far greater resolution and ability than himself, 
who, had his counsels been followed, would in all 
probability have conducted the enterprise to a safe 
termination, though there was no longer room to 
hope for success. 





VICTORIOUS QUADRIGA HEAD OF NIKE 

Coins of Syracuse 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. THIRD PERIOD, FROM THE 

SICILIAN EXPEDITION TO THE END OF THE AVAR, 
413-404 B.C. 

Results of the Disaster in Sicily. — The destruction of 
the Sicilian armament was a fatal blow to the power 
of Athens. It is astonishing that she was able to 
protract the war so long thereafter as she did with 
diminished strength and resources. Her situation in- 
spired her enemies with new vigor; states hitherto 
neutral resolved to declare against her; her subject 
allies prepared to throw off the yoke ; even the Per- 
sian satraps and the court of Susa bestirred them- 
selves against her. The first blow to her empire was 
struck by the wealthy and populous island of Chios, 
which revolted. This again was the work of Alcibi- 
ades, at whose advice a Lacedaemonian fleet was sent 
to the assistance of the Chians. Their example was 
followed by nearly all the other Athenian allies in 
Asia ; the only important exception was Samos, in 
which the democratical party gained the upper hand. 
In the midst of this general defection the Athenians 
did not give way to despair. Pericles had set apart 
a reserve of 1000 talents to meet the contingency of 
an actual invasion. This still remained untouched; 
and now, by a unanimous vote, the penalty of death, 
which forbade its appropriation to any other purpose, 



B.C. 411 THE OLIGARCHICAL CONSPIRACY 205 

was abolished, and the fund applied in fitting out a 
fleet against Chios. Saraos became the headquarters 
of the fleet and the base of Athenian operations dur- 
ing the remainder of the war; for the scene of the 
great struggle was now transferred from the West 
to the East, first, by the revolt of the Ionian cities 
and islands, and secondly, by the intervention of the 
Persians, who now supplied the Lacedaemonians with 
funds for the prosecution of the war in the hope of 
recovering the possessions on the Asiatic coast which 
Athens had wrested from them. 

Alcibiades and the Oligarchical Conspiracy. — The Athe- 
nians, though overmatched, and constantly weakened 
by the loss of allied states, were not at all points un- 
successful. They recovered Mytilene and Clazomense, 
defeated the Chians, and laid waste their territory 
(412 B.C.). They also gained a victory over a Pelo- 
ponnesian force at Miletus ; while the Lacedemonians 
lost the active assistance of Tissaphernes, the Persian 
satrap, who had shortly before concluded a formal al- 
liance with them. This defection, so fortunate for 
the Athenians, was brought about through the in- 
trigues of Alcibiades. In the course of a short time 
Alcibiades had completely forfeited the confidence of 
the Lacedaemonians. The Spartan king Agis, whose 
wife he had seduced, was his personal enemy ; other 
men of influence at Sparta envied and hated him ; 
and finally the Ephors were persuaded to send out 
instructions to put him to death. Of this, however, 
he was informed in time to make his escape to the 
court of Tissaphernes (411 B.C.). Here he ingratiated 
himself into the confidence of the satrap, and per- 
suaded him that it was not for the interest of Persia 
that either of the Grecian parties should be success- 



206 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIII 

ful, but rather that they should wear each other out 
in their struggles, when Persia would in the end suc- 
ceed in expelling both. This advice was adopted by 
the satrap ; and in order to carry the new policy into 
execution, steps were taken to secure the inactivity 
of the Peloponnesian armament, which, if vigorously 
employed, was powerful enough to put a speedy end 
to the war. In order to secure his return to Athens, 
Alcibiades further hoped to persuade Tissaphernes 
that it w r as more for the Persian interest to conclude 
a league w T ilh Athens than with Sparta ; but the only 
part of his advice which the satrap seems to have 
sincerely adopted was that of playing off one party 
against the other. About this, however, Alcibiades 
did not at all concern himself. It was enough for 
his views, which had merely the aim of his own res- 
toration to Athens, if he could make it appear that 
he possessed sufficient influence with Tissaphernes to 
procure his assistance for the Athenians. He there- 
fore began to communicate with Athenians of influ- 
ence at Samos, and held out the hope of a Persian 
alliance as the price of his restoration to his country. 
But as he both hated and feared the Athenian de- 
mocracy, he coupled his offer with the condition that 
a revolution should be effected at Athens, and an oli- 
garchy established. Many of the more wealthy and 
powerful Athenians at Samos were themselves eager 
to abolish the democracy, and greedily caught at this 
proposal of Alcibiades. The oligarchical conspirators 
formed themselves into a confederacy, and Pisander 
was sent to Athens to lay the proposal before the 
Athenian Assembly. It met, as it might be supposed, 
with the most determined opposition. The single but 
unanswerable reply of Pisander was the necessities of 



B.C. 411 AN OLIGARCHY AT ATHENS 207 

the state ; and at length the people gave way. Pi- 
sancler and ten others were despatched to treat with 
Alcibiades and Tissaphernes. 

Upon their arrival in Ionia they informed Alci- 
biades that measures had been taken for establishing 
an oligarchical form of government at Athens, and 
required him to fulfil his part of the engagement by 
procuring the aid and alliance of Persia. But Alci- 
biades knew that he had undertaken what he could 
not perform, and he now resolved to escape from the 
dilemma by one of his habitual artifices. He received 
the Athenian deputation in the presence of Tissa- 
phernes himself, and made such extravagant demands 
on behalf of the satrap that Pisander and his col- 
leagues indignantly broke off the conference. 

Notwithstanding the conduct of Alcibiades, the 
oligarchical conspirators proceeded with the revolu- 
tion at Athens, in which they had gone too far to re- 
cede. Pisander, with five of the envoys, returned to 
Athens to complete the work they had begun. 

The Establishment of an Oligarchy at Athens (41 1 B.C.). 
— A resolution was proposed and carried in the As- 
sembly that a committee of thirty should be appointed 
to discuss the question of changes in the constitution. 
On an appointed day an assembly of the people was 
convened, not in the Pnyx, but in the sanctuary of 
Poseidon at Colon us, rather more than a mile from 
the city. Here the conspirators could station their 
own partisans, and were less liable to be overawed 
by superior numbers. The committee of thirty pre- 
sented the following proposals : 1. That so long as 
the war lasted the right of citizenship should be re- 
stricted to those who were best able, by personal ser- 
vice or by means of their wealth, to help the state. 



208 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIII 

No less than 5000 citizens should be enrolled and 
should have the right as a body to conclude treaties. 
2. The whole revenue of the state should be devoted 
to the prosecution of the war, and, until the close of 
the war, no magistrates should receive pay, except 
the archons and the prytanes. 3. A board of 100 
commissioners, 10 from each tribe, should be chosen 
to select the 5000 citizens. These proposals were ap- 
proved by the Assembly, whereupon the 100 commis- 
sioners were chosen and proceeded to enroll the ap- 
pointed number of citizens. The 5000 then chose 
from their own number a second commission of 100 
to determine upon a provisional and also a permanent 
form of government. This commission recommended 
that the control of the state should be turned over 
jyro tempore to a Senate of 400. This Senate should 
have power to choose all magistrates and to govern 
as it saw fit, convening the 5000 or not at its pleasure. 
The permanent constitution which was formulated 
also provided for a Senate of 400, possessing powers 
similar to those enjoyed by the Areopagus in the 
earliest times. It should choose from its own num- 
ber all important officials, civil and military, and 
direct the affairs of the state as an irresponsible 
body. 

All these proposals of the commission of 100 were 
approved and the provisional government was at once 
established. Thus perished the Athenian democracy, 
after an existence of nearly a century since its estab- 
lishment by Clisthenes. The revolution was begun 
from despair of the foreign relations of Athens, and 
from the hope of assistance from Persia ; but it was 
carried out through the machinations of the conspira- 
tors after that delusion had ceased. 



B.C. 411 DEPOSITION OF THE FOUR HUNDRED 209 

The Athenian Army Refuses to Recognize the new Govern- 
ment. — At Samos the Athenian army refused to rec- 
ognize the new government. At the instance of 
Thrasybulus and Thrasylus the soldiers pledged 
themselves to maintain the democracy, to continue 
the war against Peloponnesus, and to put down the 
usurpers at Athens. The soldiers, laying aside for a 
while their military character, constituted themselves 
into an assembly of the people, deposed several of 
their officers, and appointed others whom they could 
better trust. Thrasybulus proposed the recall of Al- 
cibiades, notwithstanding his connection with the oli- 
garchical conspiracy, because it was believed that he 
was now able and willing to aid his native city with 
the gold and forces of Persia. This proposal was 
agreed to ; Alcibiades was brought to Samos and in- 
troduced to the Assembly, where, by his magnificent 
promises and extravagant boasts respecting his influ- 
ence with Tissaphernes, he once more succeeded in 
deceiving the Athenians. He was thereupon elected 
one of the generals, and, in pursuance of his artful 
policy, began to pass backwards and forwards be- 
tween Samos and Tissaphernes, with the view of in- 
spiring both the satrap and the Athenians with a re- 
ciprocal idea of his influence with either, and of in- 
stilling distrust of Tissaphernes into the minds of the 
Peloponnesians. 

Dissensions among the Four Hundred : the Revolt of Euboea 
and Deposition of the Four Hundred. — At the first news of 
the re-establishment of democracy at Samos, distrust 
and discord had broken out among the Four Hundred. 
Antiphon and Phrynichus, at the head of the extreme 
section of the oligarchical party, were in favor of ad- 
mitting a Lacedemonian garrison, if need be, to main- 
u 



210 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIII 

tain their government. But others, fearing that the 
overthrow of the oligarchy was inevitable, and desir- 
ing to be on the safe side, began to affect more popu- 
lar sentiments; among these were Theramenes and 
Aristocrates. The assassination of Phrynichus pre- 
cipitated trouble between the two factions, and for a 
time the city was in a state of tumult. Meanwhile a 
Peloponnesian fleet sailed around Sunium and up the 
Euripus to assist the Euboeans in a contemplated re- 
volt from Athens. The Athenians, forgetting for the 
moment their differences, hastily gathered a fleet, met 
the Peloponnesians off Eretria, and suffered a crush- 
ing defeat. The revolt of all Eubcea was soon an- 
nounced. The loss of this island seemed like a death- 
blow, for since the occupation of Decelea the Athe- 
nians had depended largely upon Eubcea for their 
food supplies. The Lacedaemonians might now easily 
blockade the ports of Athens and either starve her 
into surrender or compel the Athenians to return 
from Samos at the sacrifice of their possessions on the 
Asiatic coast. But from this fate they were saved 
by the characteristic slowness of the Lacedaemonians, 
who confined themselves to securing the conquest of 
Eubcea. Thus left unmolested, the Athenians con- 
vened an assembly in the Pnyx. Votes were passed 
for deposing the Four Hundred, and placing the gov- 
ernment in the hands of the 5000, of whom every cit- 
izen who could equip himself as a hoplite might be a 
member. In a subsequent assembly it was resolved 
to recall Alcibiades and some of his friends. Thus 
the Four Hundred were overthrown after a reign of 
four months, 411 b.c. 

The Battles of Cynossema and Abydus. — While these 
things were going on at Athens, the war was being 



B.C. 410 THE BATTLE OF CYZICUS 211 

prosecuted with vigor on the coast of Asia Minor. Min- 
darus, who now commanded the Peloponnesian fleet, 
disgusted at length by the often-broken promises of 
Tissaphernes and the scanty and irregular pay w r hich 
he furnished, set sail from Miletus and proceeded to 
the Hellespont, with the intention of assisting the Per- 
sian satrap Pharnabazus and of effecting, if possible, 
the revolt of the Athenian dependencies in that quar- 
ter. Hither he was pursued by the Athenian fleet un- 
der Thrasylus. In a few days an engagement ensued, 
in the famous strait between Sestus and Abydus, in 
which the Athenians, though with a smaller force, 
gained the victory, and erected a trophy on the prom- 
ontory of Cy nossema. The Athenians followed up their 
victory by the red uction of Cyzicus, which had revolted 
from them. Not long afterwards another obstinate 
engagement took place between the Peloponnesian 
and Athenian fleets near Abydus, which lasted a whole 
day, and was at length decided in favor of the Athe- 
nians by the arrival of Alcibiades with his squadron of 
eighteen ships from Samos. 

The Arrest and Escape of Alcibiades: The Battle of Cyzicus 
(410 B.C.)- — Shortly after this battle Tissaphernes ar- 
rived at the Hellespont with the view of conciliating 
the offended Peloponnesians. He was not only jeal- 
ous of the assistance which the latter were now ren- 
dering to Pharnabazus, but it is also evident that his 
temporizing policy had displeased the Persian court. 
This appears from his conduct on the present occa- 
sion, as well as from the subsequent appointment of 
Cyrus to the supreme command on the Asiatic coast, 
as we shall presently have to relate. When Alcibi- 
ades, who imagined that Tissaphernes was still favor- 
able to the Athenian cause, waited on him with the 



212 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIII 

customary presents, lie was arrested by order of the 
satrap, and sent in custody to Sard is. At the end of 
a month, however, he contrived to escape to Clazo- 
menre, and again joined the Athenian fleet early in 
the spring of 410 b.c. Mindarus, with the assistance 
of Pharnabazus on the land side, was now engaged in 
the siege of Cyzicus, which the Athenian admirals, 
having received considerable reinforcements, deter- 
mined to relieve. Here a battle ensued, in which 
Mindarus was slain, the Lacedaemonians and Persians 
routed, and almost the whole Peloponnesian fleet capt- 
ured. The severity of this blow was pictured in the 
laconic epistle which Hippocrates, the second in com- 
mand, despatched to the Ephors : " Our ships are gone; 
Mindarus is slain ; the men are starving ; we know 
not what to do." 

Sparta Proposes Terms of Peace, which are Rejected by the 
Athenians. — The results of this victory were most im- 
portant. Perinthus was recovered, as well as Cyzicus ; 
and the Athenians, once more masters of the Propon- 
tis, fortified the town of Chrysopolis, over against By- 
zantium, on the Bosporus, established a toll of ten 
per cent, on all vessels passing from the Euxine, and 
left a squadron to guard the strait. So great was 
the discouragement of the Lacedaemonians at the loss 
of their fleet, that the Ephor Endius proceeded to 
Athens to treat for peace on the basis of both parties 
standing just as they were. The Athenian Assembly 
was at this time led by the demagogue Cleophon, a 
lyre-maker, known to us by the comedies of Aris- 
tophanes. Cleophon appears to have been a man of 
honesty and patriotism ; but the recent victories had 
inspired him with too sanguine hopes, and he advised 
the Athenians to reject the terms proposed by Endius. 



B.C. 408 CYRUS AND LYSANDER 213 

Athens thus threw away the golden opportunity, of 
which she stood so much in need, of recruiting her 
shattered forces; and to this unfortunate advice must 
be ascribed the calamities which subsequently over- 
took her. 

The possession of the Bosporus reopened to the 
Athenians the trade of the Euxine. From his lofty 
fortress at Decelea the Spartan king Agis could de- 
scry the corn-ships from the Euxine sailing into the 
harbor of Pira3us, and felt how useless it was to oc- 
cupy the fields of Attica while such abundant sup- 
plies of provisions were continually finding their way 
to the city. 

In the following year (409 B.C.) the important towns 
of Calchedon, Selymbria, .nd Byzantium fell into the 
hands of the Athenians, thus leaving them the undis- 
puted masters of the Propontis. 

Darius Espouses the Cause of Sparta (408 B.C.): Cyrus 
and Lysander. — The tide of success seemed now to have 
turned in favor of Athens ; but the Lacedaemonians 
were still supplied with money by the Persians, and 
were now able, with the aid of Pharnabazus, to build 
and equip a new fleet. Under these circumstances, 
the Athenian generals resolved to sue for the favor 
and assistance of the Great King, upon whom really 
depended the final issue of the struggle. While they 
were besieging Calchedon they entered into a com- 
pact with Pharnabazus, by the terms of which the 
satrap agreed to conduct an Athenian embassy to the 
court of Darius. The deputies set out with Phar- 
nabazus, but were met at Gordium by a returning 
Spartan embassy, which announced that the king 
had definitely allied himself with the Peloponnesians, 
and was determined to adopt energetic measures in 



214 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIII 

their behalf. His first step was to supersede Tissa- 
phernes and Pharnabazus. The king evidently felt 
that he could not trust these two satraps, whose policy 
had been vacillating from the beginning, and deter- 
mined largely by their jealousy of each other. Ac- 
cordingly he invested his younger son Cyrus, a prince 
of a bold and enterprising spirit, with the satrapies of 
Lydia, the Greater Phrygia, and Cappadocia. Cyrus 
at once descended to the coast to carry out the pro- 
Spartan policy of the king. His arrival opens the 
last phase of the Peloponnesian war. Another event, 
in the highest degree unfavorable to the Athenian 
cause, was the accession of Lysander, as JVavarchus, 
to the command of the Peloponnesian fleet. Lysan- 
der was the third of the remarkable men whom Sparta 
produced during the war. In ability, energy, and 
success he may be compared with Brasidas and Gylip- 
pus, though immeasurably inferior to the former in 
every moral quality. Born of poor parents, he was a 
man of boundless ambition, and he was wholly un- 
scrupulous about the means which he employed to 
gratify it. In pursuit of his objects he hesitated at 
neither deceit nor perjury nor cruelty, and he is re- 
ported to have laid it down as one of his maxims in 
life to avail himself of the fox's skin w 7 here the lion's 
failed. 

Lysander had taken up his station at Ephesus, 
with the Lacedaemonian fleet of 70 triremes ; and 
when Cyrus arrived at Sardis he hastened to pay 
his court to the young prince, and was received with 
every mark of favor. A vigorous line of action was 
resolved on. Cyrus announced that he had come 
with 500 talents to devote to the war, and affirmed 
that, if more were needed, he w r as prepared to employ 



B.C. 408 ALCIBIADES RETURN TO ATHENS 215 

his own private means, or even to coin into money 
the very throne of gold and silver on which he sat. 
In a banquet which ensued Cyrus drank to the health 
of Lysander, and desired him to name any wish 
which he could gratify. Lysander immediately re- 
quested an addition of an obolus to the daily pay of 
the seamen. Cyrus was surprised at so disinterested 
a demand, and from that day conceived a high de- 
gree of respect and confidence for the Spartan com- 
mander. % 

Alcibiades Returns to Athens (408 B.C.) — Meanwhile 
Alcibiades was revisiting his native city after an ab- 
sence of seven years. The victories which he had 
won naturally paved the way for his return. In the 
spring of 408 b.c. he proceeded with the fleet to Sa- 
mos, and thence sailed to Piraeus. His reception was 
far more favorable than he had ventured to anticipate. 
The people of Athens flocked down to Piraeus to wel- 
come him, and escorted him to the city. He seemed 
to be in the present juncture the only man capable of 
restoring the grandeur* and the empire of Athens : he 
was accordingly named general with unlimited powers, 
and a force of 100 triremes, 1500 hoplites, and 150 cav- 
alry placed at his disposal. Before his departure he 
took an opportunity to atone for the impiety of which 
he had been suspected. His armament was not to set 
sail from Athens till after the celebration of the Eleu- 
sinian mysteries at the end of September. For five 
years the customary procession across the Thriasian 
plain had been suspended, owing to the occupation 
of Decelea by the enemy, which compelled the sacred 
troop to proceed by sea. Alcibiades now escorted 
them on their progress and return by land with his 
forces, and thus succeeded in reconciling himself with 



216 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIII 

the offended goddesses of the sanctuary and with their 
holy priests, the Eumolpida?. 

The Battle of Notium and the Disgrace of Alcibiades (407 
B.C.). — The Peloponnesian fleet was still lying in the 
harbor of Ephesus when Alcibiades returned to Sa- 
mos. Being ill provided with funds for carrying on 
the war, he was driven to make predatory excursions 
for the purpose of raising money. During his ab- 
sence on one occasion he intrusted the fleet to his 
pilot Antiochi^s, with strict injunctions not to vent- 
ure on an action. Notwithstanding these orders, how- 
ever, Antiochus brought the Peloponnesian fleet to an 
engagement off Notium, in which the Athenians were 
defeated with the loss of 15 ships, and Antiochus him- 
self was slain. When the news of the battle reached 
Athens, the Athenians in their anger were easily per- 
suaded to lay the blame upon Alcibiades, and showed 
their displeasure by refusing to re-elect him general. 
Of the ten new generals who were chosen, Conon was 
at the head. 

Callicratidas succeeds Lysander (406 B.C.). — In the fol- 
lowing spring the Spartans sent out Callicratidas to 
succeed Lysander as admiral of the fleet, the latter's 
term of command having expired. Callicratidas col- 
lected 50 ships from Chios, Rhodes, and other allied 
states to add to the 90 which had been delivered to 
him by his predecessor. But he soon found that he 
had other enemies than the Athenians to contend 
with. Through the intrigues of Lvsander, he was re- 
ceived with dissatisfaction both by the Lacedaemonian 
seamen and by Cyrus. Complaints were raised of the 
impolicy of an annual change of commanders. Ly- 
sander threw all sorts of difficulties in the way of his 
successor, to whom he handed over an empty treasury, 



B.C. 406 THE BATTLE OF ARGIXUS.E 217 

having first repaid to Cyrus all the money in his pos- 
session. The straightforward conduct of Callicra- 
tidas, however, who summoned the Lacedaemonians, 
and, after a dignified remonstrance, plainly put the 
question whether he should return home or remain, 
silenced all opposition. But he was sorely embarrassed 
for funds. Cyrus treated him with haughtiness ; 
when he waited on that prince he was dismissed not 
only without money, but even without an audience. 
Callicratidas, however, had too much - energy to be 
daunted by such obstacles. Sailing with his fleet 
from Ephesus to Miletus, he laid before the Assem- 
bly of that city, in a spirited address, all the ills 
they had suffered at the hands of the Persians, and 
exhorted them to bestir themselves and dispense with 
the Persian alliance. He succeeded in persuading 
the Milesians to make him a grant of money, while 
individual citizens even came forward with private 
subscriptions. The Chians further provided him with 
a week's pay for the seamen. 

The Athenians Blockaded at Mytilene, — The Lacedae- 
monian fleet was now double that of Conon, and the 
latter was compelled to run before the superior force 
of Callicratidas. Both fleets entered the harbor of 
Mytilene at the same time, whereupon a battle en- 
sued, in which Conon lost 30 ships, and only saved 
the remaining 40 by hauling them ashore under the 
walls of the town. Callicratidas then blockaded Myt- 
ilene both bv sea and land : but Conon contrived to 
despatch, a trireme to Athens with the news of his 
desperate position. 

The Battle of Arginusae(406 B.C.). — As soon as the Athe- 
nians received intelligence of the blockade of Myti- 
lene, vast efforts were made for its relief; and we 



218 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIII 

learn with surprise that in thirty days a fleet of 110 
triremes was equipped and despatched from Piraeus. 
The armament assembled at Samos, where it was re- 
inforced by contingents from the allies, to the extent 
of more than 40 vessels. The whole fleet of 150 sail 
then proceeded to the small islands of Arginusae, near 
the coast of Asia, and facing Malea, the southeastern 
cape of Lesbos. Callicratidas, who went out to meet 
them, took up his station at the latter point, leaving 
a squadron of 50 ships to maintain the blockade of 
Mytilene. He had thus only 120 ships to oppose to 
the 150 of the Athenians, and his pilot advised him to 
retire before the superior force of the enemy. But 
Callicratidas replied that he would not disgrace him- 
self by flight, and that if he should perish Sparta 
would not feel his loss. The battle was long and ob- 
stinate. All order was speedily lost, and the ships 
fought singly with one another. In one of these 
contests, Callicratidas, who stood on the prow of his 
vessel ready to board the enemy, was thrown over- 
board by the shock of the vessels as they met, and 
perished. At length victory began to declare for the 
Athenians. The Lacedaemonians, after losing 10 ves- 
sels, retreated with the remainder to Chios and Pho- 
caea. The loss of the Athenians was 25 vessels. 

The Condemnation of the Generals. — The battle of Ar- 
ginusse led to a deplorable event, which has forever 
sullied the pages of Athenian history. A number of 
Athenian vessels were left floating about in a disabled 
condition after the battle ; but, owing to a st£>rm that 
ensued, no attempt was made to rescue the survivors, 
or to collect the bodies of the dead for burial. Ei^ht 
of the ten generals were summoned home to answer 
for this conduct ; Conon and Leon, who were com- 



B.C. 406 THE GENERALS CONDEMNED 219 

manding the blockaded fleet at Mytilene, were of 
course exculpated. Six of the generals obeyed the 
summons, and were denounced to the Assembly by 
Theramenes, formerly one of the Four Hundred, for 
neglect of duty. The generals replied that they had 
commissioned Theramenes himself, who commanded 
a trireme in the engagement, together with some oth- 
ers, to undertake the duty, and had assigned 47 ships 
to them for that purpose. They did not, however, 
accuse Theramenes and his companions of negligence, 
but maintained that it was the storm which prevented 
the rescue of the survivors and the recovery of the 
dead. After a day's debate, the question was ad- 
journed ; and in the interval the festival of the Apa- 
turia was celebrated, in which, according to annual 
custom, the people met together according to their 
families and phratriae. Those who had perished at 
Arginusae were naturally missed on such an occasion ; 
and the usually cheerful character of the festival 
was rendered melancholy by the relatives of the de- 
ceased appearing in black clothes and with shaven 
heads. The passions of the people were violently 
roused. At the next meeting of the Assembly, Cal- 
lixenus, a senator, proposed that the people should 
at once proceed to pass its verdict on the generals, 
though they had been only partially heard in their 
defence ; and, moreover, that they should all be in- 
cluded in one sentence, though it was contrary to a 
rule of Athenian law to indict citizens otherwise than 
individually. Some of the prytanes, or senators of 
the presiding tribe, at first refused to put this illegal 
proposal to vote in the Assembly ; but their opposi- 
tion was at length overawed by clamor and violence. 
There was, however, one honorable exception. The 



220 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIII 

philosopher Socrates, who was one of the prytanes, 
refused to withdraw his protest. But despite his op- 
position the proposal of Callixenus w T as carried. The 
generals were condemned, and compelled to drink the 
fatal hemlock. Among them was Pericles, the son of 
the celebrated statesman. 

Capture of the Athenian Fleet at /Egospotami (405 B.C.).— 
In the following year, through the influence of Cy- 
rus and the other allies of Sparta, Lysander again 
obtained the command of the Peloponnesian fleet, 
though nominally under Aracus as admiral, since 
it was contrary to Spartan law that the same man 
should be twice Navarehus. His return to power 
was marked by vigorous measures. He sailed to the 
Hellespont, and attacked Lampsacus. The Athenian 
fleet arrived in the Hellespont too late to save the 
town, but proceeded up the strait and took up its 
position at .ZEgospotami, or the "Goat's River," a 
place w r hich had nothing to recommend it except its 
vicinity to Lampsacus, from w T hich it was separated 
by a channel somewhat less than two miles broad. 
It was a mere desolate beach, without houses or in- 
habitants, so that all the supplies had to be brought 
from Sestus, or from the surrounding country, and 
the seamen were compelled to leave their ships in 
order to obtain their meals. Under these circum- 
stances the Athenians were very desirous of bring- 
ing Lysander to an engagement. But the Spartan 
commander, who was in a strong position, and abun- 
dantly furnished with provisions, was in no hurry to 
run any risks. In vain did the Athenians sail over 
several days in succession to offer him battle ; they 
always found his ships ready manned, and drawn up 
in too strong a position to warrant an attack ; nor 



B.C. 404 SIEGE AND FALL OF ATHENS 221 

could they succeed in enticing him out to combat. 
This cowardice, as they deemed it, on the part of 
the Lacedaemonians begot a corresponding negli- 
gence on theirs ; discipline was neglected, and the 
men were allowed to straggle almost at will. It was 
in vain that Alcibiades, who, since his dismissal, re- 
sided in a fortress in that neighborhood, remon- 
strated with the Athenian generals on the exposed 
nature of the station they had chosen, and advised 
them to proceed to Sestus. His counsels were re- 
ceived with taunts and insults. At length, on the 
fifth day, Lysander, having watched an opportunity 
when the Athenian seamen had gone on shore and 
were dispersed over the country, rowed swiftly across 
the strait with all his ships. He found the Athenian 
fleet, with the exception of a very few vessels, totally 
unprepared, and he captured nearly the whole of it, 
almost without striking a blow. Of the 180 ships 
which composed the fleet, only the trireme of Conon 
himself, the state-trireme Paralus, and seven other 
vessels succeeded in escaping. Conon was afraid to 
return to Athens after so signal a disaster, and took 
refuge with Evagoras, king of Salamis in Cyprus. 

The Siege and Fall of Athens (404 B.C.). — By this mo- 
mentous victory the Peloponnesian war was virtually 
brought to an end. Lysander, secure of an easy tri- 
umph, was in no haste to gain it by force. The com- 
mand of the Euxine enabled him to control the sup- 
plies of Athens, and, sooner or later, famine must de- 
cide her fall. He now sailed forth to take possession 
of the Athenian towns, which fell one after another 
into his power as soon as he appeared before them. 
Towards the end of the year 405 b.c. he arrived at 
iEgina with a fleet of 150 triremes, and proceeded to 



222 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIII 

devastate Salamis and blockade Piraeus. At the same 
time the whole Peloponnesian army was marched into 
Attica, and encamped in the precincts of the Academy, 
at the very gates of Athens. Famine soon began to be 
felt within the walls, and at the end of a few months 
it became so dreadful that the Athenians saw them- 
selves compelled to submit to the terms of the con- 
queror. These terms were : That the long walls and 
the fortifications of Piraeus should be demolished ; 
that the Athenians should surrender all their ships of 
war except twelve ; that they should readmit all their 
exiles; and that they should become subject allies of 
Sparta. 

In was in April, 404 b.c, that Lysander sailed into 
Piraeus, and took formal possession of Athens; the 
war, in singular conformity with the prophecies current 
at the beginning of it, having lasted for a period of 
thrice nine, or twenty-seven years. The insolence of 
the victors added another blow to the feelings of the 
conquered. The work of destruction, at which Lysan- 
der presided, was converted into a sort of festival. 
Female flute -players inaugurated the demolition of 
the strong and proud bulwarks of Athens; the Pelo- 
ponnesian troops were crowned with garlands ; and 
as the massive walls fell piece by piece, exclamations 
arose from their ranks that freedom had at length be- 
gun to dawn upon Greece. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE THIRTY TYRANTS AND THE DEATH OF SOCRATES, 

404-399 B.C. 

The Establishment of the Thirty Tyrants (August, 404 B.C.)- 

— The fall of Athens brought back a host of exiles, all 
of them the enemies of her democratical constitution. 
Of these the most distinguished was Critias, a man of 
wealth and family, a relative of Plato, and once the 
intimate friend of Socrates, distinguished both for his 
literary and political talents, but of unmeasured am- 
bition and unscrupulous conscience. Critias and his 
companions soon found a party with which they could 
co-operate ; and, supported by Lysander, they pro- 
posed in the Assembly that a committee of thirty 
should be named to draw up laws for the future gov- 
ernment of the city and to undertake its temporary 
administration. Among the most prominent of the 
thirty names were those of Critias and Theramenes. 
The proposal was, of course, carried. Lysander him- 
self addressed the Assembly, and contemptuously told 
them that they had better take thought for their per- 
sonal safety, which now lay at his mercy, than for their 
political constitution. The committee thus appointed 
soon obtained the title of the Thirty Tyrants, the 
name by which they have been known in all subse- 
quent time. After naming a new Senate and appoint- 
ing fresh magistrates they proceeded to exterminate 



224 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIV 

their most obnoxious opponents. But Critias and 
the more violent party among them still called for 
more blood, and with the view of obtaining it pro- 
cured a Spartan garrison, under Callibius, to be in- 
stalled in the Acropolis. Blood now flowed on all 
sides. Many of the leading men of Athens fell; others 
took to flight. 

The Execution of Theramenes. — Thus a reign of terror 
was completely established. Theramenes, however, 
himself one of the Thirty, freely and boldly ex- 
pressed his disapproval of these proceedings. But 
his moderation cost him his life. One day as he en- 
tered the Senate-house Critias rose and denounced 
him as a public enemy, and ordered him to be carried 
off to instant death. Upon hearing these words The- 
ramenes sprang for refuge to the altar in the Senate- 
house ; but he was dragged away by Satyrus, the 
cruel and unscrupulous head of the Eleven, a body 
of officers who carried into execution the penal sen- 
tence of the law. Being conveyed to prison, he was 
compelled to drink the fatal hemlock. The constancy 
of his end might have adorned a better life. After 
swallowing the draught, he jerked on the floor a drop 
which remained in the cup, according to the custom 
of the game called cottabus, exclaiming, " This to the 
health of the lovely Critias !" 

The Death of Alcibiades. — Alcibiades was one of those 
who w T ere hated and feared by the Thirty, for the 
people of Athens had begun to look to him as a pos- 
sible deliverer; but the fate which now overtook him 
seems to have sprung from the fears of the Lacedae- 
monians, or perhaps from the personal hatred of Agis. 
After the battle of .zEgospotami, Phnrnabazus per- 
mitted the Athenian exile to live in Plnygia, and 



B.C. 404 LYSANDER, THE TYRANT OF GREECE 



225 



treated him with honor. But a despatch came out 
from Sparta to Lysander, directing that Alcibiades 
should be put to death. Lysander communicated the 
order to Pharnabazus, who arranged 
for carrying it into execution. The 
house of Alcibiades w 7 as surrounded 
with a band of assassins and set on 
fire. He rushed out with drawn 
sword upon his assailants, who shrank 
from the attack, but slew him from 
a distance w r ith their javelins and ar- 
rows. Thus perished miserably, in 
the vigor of his age, one of the most 
remarkable, though not one of the 
greatest, characters in Grecian his- 
tory. With qualities w 7 hich, proper- 
ly applied, might have rendered him 
the greatest benefactor of Athens, 
he contrived to attain the distinction 
of being that citizen who had in- 
flicted upon her the most signal amount of damage. 
Lysander, the Tyrant of Greece. — Meantime an altered 
state of feeling was springing up in Greece. Athens 
had ceased to be an object of fear or jealousy, and 
those feelings began now to be directed towards 
Sparta. Lysander had risen to a height of unparal- 
leled power. He was in a manner idolized. Poets 
showered their praises on him, and his statues were 
set up in the shrines of the gods. In the name of 
Sparta he exercised almost uncontrolled authority in 
the cities he had reduced, including Athens itself. 
But it was soon discovered that, instead of the free- 
dom promised by the Spartans, only another empire 
had been established. And all the oppressions which 

15 




ALCIBIADES 



226 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIV 

were visited upon the subject states were rendered 
still more intolerable by the overweening pride and 
harshness of Lysander's demeanor. 

Thrasybulus and the Exiles seize Phyle. — Even in Sparta 
itself the conduct of Lysander was beginning to in- 
spire disgust and jealousy. Pausanias, son of Pleisto- 
anax, who was now king with Agis, as well as the 
new Ephors appointed in the autumn of 404 B.C., dis- 
approved of his proceedings. The Thebans and Co- 
rinthians themselves were beginning to sympathize 
with Athens, and to regard the Thirty as mere instru- 
ments for supporting the Spartan dominion ; while 
Sparta, in her turn, looked upon them as the tools of 
Lysander's ambition. Many of the Athenian exiles 
had found refuge in Boeotia ; and one of them, Thrasy- 
bulus, was able, with the assistance of the Thebans, to 
equip a small band of seventy fellow-exiles and offer 
open resistance to the Thirty. Starting from Thebes, 
he seized the fortress of Phyle, in the passes of Mount 
Parnes and on the direct road to Athens. The Thirty 
marched out to attack Thrasybulus at the head of a 
strong force, but were repulsed in an attempt to capt- 
ure the stronghold. Returning to the city, they de- 
spatched all but a few of the Lacedaemonian garrison 
and two squadrons of cavalry to keep guard a short 
distance from Phyle ; but this force was attacked by 
Thrasybulus and defeated with considerable loss. 

The Defeat and Overthrow of the Thirty Tyrants (403 B.C.).— 
It was not long before the garrison at Phyle had 
increased to about 1000 men, and Thrasybulus felt 
strong enough to march to Piraeus, which he seized 
without opposition. When the whole force of the 
Thirty, including the Lacedaemonians, marched to at- 
tack him, he retired to the hill of Munichia, the cita- 



B.C. 403 OVERTHROW OF THE THIRTY TYRANTS 227 

del of Pineus, the only approach to which was by a 
steep ascent. Here he drew up his hoplites in files 
ten deep, posting behind them his slingers and dart- 
men. The forces of the Thirty advanced up the hill 
in a column fifty men deep ; but in the onset which 
followed they were driven back and completely routed 
(Aprii, 403 B.C.). Critias himself fell, and about sev- 
enty of his followers. The oligarchical party in Athens 
now voted to depose the Thirty, and chose in their 
place a new board of Ten ; whereupon all but two of 
the surviving members of the Thirty retired to Eleusis. 
After a few days of desultory fighting with the forces 
of Thrasybulus, the new government of the Ten sent 
to Sparta to solicit aid ; and a similar application was 
made at the same time by the section of the Thirty 
at Eleusis. These requests were complied with ; and 
Lysander once more returned to Athens as harmost, 
or governor, while his brother Libys blockaded Piraeus 
with a fleet. Fortunately, however, the jealousy of 
the Lacedaemonians towards Lysander led them at this 
critical juncture to supersede him in the command. 
King Pausanias was appointed to conduct an army 
into Attica, and when he encamped near Piraeus he 
was joined by Lysander and his forces. Not wishing 
to appear openly as a friend of the democracy, Pausa- 
nias sent ambassadors to the party of Thrasybulus, 
bidding them disperse to their homes. When they 
refused to obey this command he prepared for an at- 
tack. The battle which followed was obstinately 
contested, but finally decided in favor of the Spar- 
tans. Having thus saved the honor of Sparta, Pau- 
sanias secretly sent messengers to the democrats in 
Piraeus and the oligarchs in Athens, urging them to 
despatch ambassadors to Peloponnesus to treat for 



228 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIV 

peace with Sparta and a reconciliation with one an- 
other. The Spartan authorities sent back ten com- 
missioners who, in concert with Pausanias, should 
arrange the terms of a treaty. The decision of this 
board was : That the exiles in Piraeus should be re- 
admitted to Athens ; that whoever of the oligarchical 
party wished to leave the city might dwell at Eleusis ; 
and that there should be an amnesty for all that had 
passed except as regarded the Thirty,- the Ten, and the 
Eleven. When these terms were settled and sworn to, 
the Peloponnesians quitted Attica; and Thrasybulus 
and the exiles, marching under arms from Piraeus to 
Athens, ascended to the Acropolis and offered up a 
solemn sacrifice. An assembly of the people was then 
held, in which Thrasybulus addressed an animated re- 
proof to the oligarchical party. 

The Restoration of the Democracy. — The return of 
Thrasybulus and his exiles took place in September, 
403 B.C., and steps were now taken to restore the 
democracy. The Archons, the Senate of 500, the Pub- 
lic Assembly, and the Dicasteries were reconstituted 
in practically the same form as before the capture of 
the city. Thus was terminated, after a sway of thir- 
teen months, the despotism of the oligarchy. The 
year which witnessed the establishment of the Thirty 
was not named after the archon, but was termed "the 
year of anarchy." The first archon chosen after the 
fall of the oligarchy was Euclides, who gave his 
name to a year ever afterwards memorable among 
the Athenians. 

Socrates: his Life, Character, and Philosophy. — For the 
next few years the only memorable event in the 
history of Athens is the death of Socrates. This 
celebrated philosopher was born in Athens about 



B.C. 470-399 



SOCRATES 



229 



the year 470 b.c. His father, Sophroniscus, was a 
sculptor, and Socrates was brought up to the same 
profession and for some time practised it. He was 
married to Xanthippe, by whom he had three sons ; 
but her bad temper has rendered her name proverbial 
for a conjugal scold. His physical constitution was 
healthy, robust, and wonderfully enduring. Indiffer- 
ent alike to heat and cold, the same scanty and homely 
clothing sufficed him both in sum- 
mer and winter ; and even in the 
campaign of Potidsea, amidst the 
snows of a Thracian winter, he 
went barefooted. But, though 
thus gifted with strength of body 
and of mind, he was far from be- 
in gen do wed with person alb eauty. 
His thick lips, flat nose, and prom- 
inent eyes gave him the appear- 
ance of a Silenus or Satyr. He 
served with credit as a hoplite at 
Potidaea (432 B.C.), Delium (424 socrates 

b.c), and Amphipolis (422 B.C.); but it was not till 
late in life, in the year 406 B.C., that he filled any 
political office. He was one of the prytanes when, 
after the battle of Arginusse, Callixenus submitted 
his proposition respecting the six generals to the 
Assembly, and his refusal on that occasion to put 
an unconstitutional question to the vote has been 
already recorded. He had a strong persuasion that he 
was intrusted with a divine mission, and he believed 
himself to be attended by a daimonion, or genius, 
whose admonitions he frequently heard, not, how- 
ever, in the w T ay of incitement, but of restraint. He 
never wrote anything, but made oral instruction the 




230 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIV 

great business of his life. Early in the morning he 
frequented the public walks and the gymnasia ; thence 
he adjourned to the market-place at its most crowded 
hours, and thus spent the whole day in conversing 
with young and old, rich and poor — with all, in short, 
who cared to listen to him. 

That a reformer and destroyer, like Socrates, of an- 
cient prejudices and fallacies which passed current 
under the name of wisdom should have raised up a 
host of enemies is only what might have been ex- 
pected ; but in his case this feeling was increased by 
the manner in which he fulfilled his mission. The 
oracle of Delphi, in response to a question put by his 
friend Chaerephon, had affirmed that no man was wiser 
than Socrates. No one was more perplexed at this 
declaration than Socrates himself, since he w T as con- 
scious of possessing no wisdom at all. However, he 
determined to test the accuracy of the priestess. He 
therefore selected an eminent politician who enjoyed 
a high reputation for wisdom, and soon discovered, 
by his scrutinizing method of cross-examination, that 
this statesman's reputed wisdom was no wisdom at 
all. But of this he could not convince the subject of 
his examination ; whence Socrates concluded that he 
was wiser than this politician, inasmuch as he was 
conscious of his own ignorance, and therefore exempt 
from the error of believing himself wise when in re- 
ality he was not so. The same experiment was tried 
with the same result on various classes of men — on 
poets, mechanics, and especially on the rhetors and 
sophists, the chief of all the pretenders to wisdom. 

The Trial and Death of Socrates (399 B.C.). — The first 
indication of the unpopularity which he had incurred 
is the attack made upon him by Aristophanes in the 



B.C. 399 DEATH OF SOCRATES 231 

" Clouds " in the year 423 B.C. That attack, however, 
seems to have evaporated with the laugh, and for 
many years Socrates continued his work without 
molestation. It was not till 399 B.C. that the indict- 
ment was preferred against him which cost him his 
life. In that year Meletus, a poet, seconded by Any- 
tus, a leather-seller, and Lycon, a rhetor, accused him 
of impiety in not worshipping the gods of the city, 
but introducing new deities, and also of being a cor- 
rupter of the young. With respect to the latter 
charge, his former intimacy with Alcibiades and Crit- 
ias weighed against him. Socrates made no prep- 
arations for his defence, and seems, indeed, not to 
have desired an acquittal. But although he ad- 
dressed the dicasts in a bold and uncompromising 
tone, he was condemned by a majority of only sixty 
in a court composed of five hundred dicasts. After 
the verdict was pronounced he was entitled, accord- 
ing to the practice of the Athenian courts, to make 
some counter-proposition in place of the penalty of 
death which the accusers demanded, and if he had 
done so with any show of submission it is probable 
that the sentence would have been mitigated. But 
his tone after the verdict was higher than before. 
Instead of being punished, he asserted that he ought 
to be maintained in the Prytaneum at the public ex- 
pense as a public benefactor. This seems to have 
enraged the dicasts, and he was condemned to death. 
It happened that the vessel which proceeded to 
Delos on the annual deputation to the festival was 
prepared for its voyage the day before his condemna- 
tion, and until it should return it was unlawful to put 
any one to death. Socrates was thus kept in prison 
during thirty days, till the return of the vessel. He 



232 



HISTORY OF GREECE 



Chap. XIV 



spent the interval in philosophical conversations with 
his friends. Crito, one of these, endeavored to per- 
suade him to escape from prison, undertaking to make 
all the necessary arrangements ; but Socrates, as 
might have been expected from the tone of his de- 
fence, resolutely refused to save his life by a breach of 
the law. His last discourse, on the day of his death, 
turned on the immortality of the soul. With a firm 
and cheerful countenance he drank the cup of hemlock 
amidst his sorrowing and weeping friends. 

Thus perished the greatest and most original of 
the Grecian philosophers, whose uninspired wisdom 
made the nearest approach to the divine morality of 
the Gospel. His life marks an epoch in the history 
of philosophy. Among his followers were Plato, 
the founder of the Academic philosophy ; Euclides, 
the founder of the Megaric school; Aristippus, the 
founder of the Cyrenaic school ; and many other 
philosophers of eminence. 




COIN OF ATHENS 



CHAPTER XV 

THE EXPEDITION OF THE GREEKS UNDER CYRUS AND 
THE RETREAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND, 401-400 B.C. 

The Expedition of Cyrus (401 B.C.). — The assistance 
which Cyrus had rendered to the Lacedaemonians in 
the Peloponnesian war led to a remarkable episode in* 
Grecian history. This was the celebrated expedition 
of Cyrus against his brother Artaxerxes, in which 
the superiority of Grecian to Asiatic soldiers was so 
strikingly shown. 

The death of Darius No thus, king of Persia, took 
place in the year 405 B.C. Cyrus, who was present 
at his father's death, was charged by Tissaphernes 
with plotting against his elder brother Artaxerxes, 
who succeeded to the throne. The accusation was 
believed by Artaxerxes, who seized his brother, and 
would have put him to death but for the intercession 
of their mother, Parysatis, who persuaded him not 
only to spare Cyrus, but to confirm him in his former 
government. Cyrus returned to Sardis burning with 
revenge, and fully resolved to make an effort to de- 
throne his brother. 

From his intercourse with the Greeks, Cyrus had 
become aware of their superiority to the Asiatics and 
of their usefulness in such an enterprise as he now 
contemplated. He accordingly enlisted large num- 
bers of them in his service, under the pretence of a 



234 



HISTORY OF GREECE 



Chap. XV 



private war with the satrap Tissaphernes. The Greek 
in whom he placed most confidence was Clearchus, a 
Lacedemonian, and formerly harmost of Byzantium, 
who had been condemned to death by the Spartan 
authorities for disobedience to their orders. 

The March from Sardis to Cunaxa. — It was not, how- 




RUINS OF THE TEMPLE OF CYBELE AT SARDIS 

ever, till the beginning of the year 401 B.C. that the 
enterprise of Cyrus was ripe for execution. The 
Greek levies were then withdrawn from the various 
towns in which they were distributed, and concen- 
trated in Sardis, to the number of about 8000 ; and 
in March of this year Cyrus marched from Sardis 



B.C. 401 MARCH FROM SARDIS TO CUXAXA 235 

with them, and with an army of 100,000 Asiatics. 
The object of the expedition was proclaimed to be 
an attack upon the mountain freebooters of Pisidia ; 
its real destination was a secret to every one except 
Cyrus himself and Clearchus. Among the Greeks 
was Xenophon,an Athenian knight, to whom we owe 
a narrative of the expedition. 

The march of Cyrus was directed through Lydia 
and Phrygia. After passing Colossse he arrived at 
Celsenae, where he was joined by more Greek troops, 
the number of whom now amounted to about 11,000 
hoplites and 2000 light -armed troops. Thence he 
proceeded through Lycaonia and Cappadocia into 
Cilicia. After halting for a short time at Tarsus, 
the army marched forward to Issus, the last town in 
Cilicia, situated on the gulf of the same name. Here 
they met the fleet, which brought them a reinforce- 
ment of 700 Lacedaemonians, sent out by the Ephors 
to assist Cyrus, in return for the help he had given 
them against Athens. They were also joined at Issus 
by 400 Greek mercenaries who had deserted from the 
Persians. The entire Grecian force now amounted, 
therefore, to about 14,000 men. 

Abrocomas, who commanded for the Great King in 
Syria and Phoenicia, alarmed at the rapid progress of 
Cyrus, fled before him with all his army, reported as 
300,000 strong, abandoning the impregnable pass sit- 
uated one day's march from Issus, and known as the 
Gates of Cilicia and Syria. Marching in safety through 
this pass, the army of Cyrus proceeded eastward to 
Thapsacus on the Euphrates, where for the first time 
Cyrus formally announced that he was marching to 
Babylon against his brother Artaxerxes. The army 
now entered upon the desert, and after several days 



B.C. 401 THE BATTLE OF CUXAXA 237 

of toilsome march at length reached Pylae, the en- 
trance into the cultivated plains of. Babylonia. 

The Battle of Cunaxa. — Soon after leaving Pylse 
symptoms became perceptible of a vast hostile force 
moving in their front. At length, on arriving at a 
place called Cunaxa, they received intelligence that 
Artaxerxes was in fact approaching with all his 
army. Cyrus immediately drew up his troops in 
order of battle. The Greeks were posted on the right, 
while Cyrus himself, surrounded by a picked body- 
guard of 600 Persian cuirassiers, took up his station 
in the centre. When the enemv was about half a mile 
distant the Greeks charged them with the usual war- 
shout. The Persians did not await their onset, but 
turned and fled. As Cyrus was contemplating the 
easy victory of the Greeks, his followers surrounded 
him and already saluted him with the title of king. 
But the centre and right of Artaxerxes still remained 
unbroken ; and that monarch, unaware of the defeat 
of his left wing, ordered the right to wheel and en- 
compass the army of Cyrus. No sooner did Cyrus 
perceive this movement than with his bod3 r -guard he 
impetuously charged the enemy's centre, where Ar- 
taxerxes himself stood, surrounded with 6000 horse. 
The latter were routed and dispersed, but Cyrus, 
becoming separated in the confusion of the pursuit 
from all but a few of his companions, was overborne 
by superior numbers and slain on the spot. 

The Greeks begin the Homeward March : the Seizure of 
the Generals. — Meanwhile Clearchus had pursued the 
flying enemy upwards of three miles ; but, hearing 
that the king's troops were in possession of the camp 
of Cyrus, he retraced his steps, again routing the Per- 
sians, who endeavored to intercept him. When the 



238 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XV 

Greeks regained their camp they found that it had 
been completely plundered, and were consequently 
obliged to go supperless to rest. It was not till the 
following day that they learned of the death of Cyrus 
— tidings which converted their triumph into sorrow 
and dismay. Soon the king sent heralds to com- 
mand them to give up their arms; but they natural- 
ly refused to surrender to an enemy whom they 
had beaten. A few days later, when the Greeks had 
already begun the return march, they received a 
visit from Tissaphernes, who pretended much friend- 
ship towards them, and announced that he was ready 
to conduct them in person to Greece and to supply 
them with provisions during the journey. Accord- 
ingly, after many days' delay, they commenced the 
homeward march, escorted by Tissaphernes and his 
troops. Crossing the Tigris by a bridge of boats, 
they proceeded along its eastern bank to the river 
Zapatas, or Great Zab, where they halted three days. 
Mistrust, aggravated by slight hostilities, had been 
already manifested between the Greeks and the Per- 
sians under Tissaphernes, but it now became so seri- 
ous that Clearchus demanded an interview with the 
satrap. The latter protested the greatest fidelity and 
good-will towards the Greeks, and promised to tell the 
Greek generals, on the following day, who the calum- 
niators were who had set the two armies at variance. 
But when Clearchus, with four other generals, ac- 
companied by twenty lochagi, or captains, and 200 
soldiers, came to the Persian camp according to ap- 
pointment, the captains and soldiers were immediate- 
ly cut down ; while the five generals were seized and 
sent to the Persian court. Four of them were im- 
mediately beheaded ; the fifth, Menon, died after a 
year of torture. 



B.C. 401-400 RETREAT TO THE EUXIXE 239 

New Generals are chosen : the Retreat to the Euxine.— 

Apprehension and dismay reigned among the Greeks. 
Their situation was, indeed, appalling. They were 
more than a thousand miles from home, in a hostile 
and unknown country, hemmed in on all sides by 
impassable rivers and mountains, without generals, 
without guides, without provisions. Xenophon was 
the first to rouse the captains to the necessity for 
taking immediate precautions. He was immediately 
urged to assume the command, and in a subsequent 
meeting of the officers was formally chosen as one of 
five new generals. 

The Greeks, having first destroyed their superflu- 
ous baggage, crossed the Great Zab, and pursued 
their march along the bank of the Tigris, being con- 
stantly harassed by the Persian cavalry and archers. 
Reaching: at lengrth the mountainous country of the 
Carduchi and finding all other roads barred, they 
formed the resolution of striking northwards into the 
mountains, on the farther side of which lay Armenia, 
where both the Tigris and the Euphrates might be 
forded near their sources. After a difficult and dan- 
gerous march of seven da} r s, during which their suf- 
ferings were far greater than any they had experienced 
from the Persians, the Greeks emerged into Armenia. 
It was now winter, and Armenia was cold and ex- 
posed, being a table-land raised high above the level 
of the sea. The route of the army still lay north- 
wards over snow-covered plains, and at night in their 
open bivouacs the soldiers were sometimes almost 
buried by deep falls of snow. Some of them had their 
feet frost-bitten; some were blinded by the snow; 
while others, exhausted with cold and hunger, sank 
down and died. After a rest of several days in some 



240 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XV 

Armenian villages, they journeyed on, fighting their 
way through the country of the Taochi and the Chal- 
ybes. They next reached the country of the Scy- 
thini, in whose territory they found abundance in a 
city called Gymnias. The chief of this place pro- 
vided them with a guide who engaged to conduct 
them within sight of the Euxine in five days ; on the 
fifth, after ascending a mountain, the sea suddenly 
burst on the view of the vanguard. The men pro- 
claimed their joy by loud shouts of " The sea ! the 
sea !" The rest of the army hurried to the summit, 
and gave vent to their joy and exultation in tears 
and mutual embraces. A few days' march through 
the country of the Macrones and the Colchians at 
length brought them to the objects for which they had 
so often pined, and which many at onetime had never 
hoped to see again — a Grecian city and the sea. By 
the inhabitants of Trapezus, or Trebizond, on the Eux- 
ine, where they had now arrived, they were hospita- 
bly received, and, being quartered in some Colchian 
villages near the town, refreshed themselves after the 
hardships they had undergone by a repose of thirty 
days. 

Further Fortunes of the Ten Thousand.— The most diffi- 
cult part of the return of the Ten Thousand was now 
accomplished, and it is unnecessary to trace the re- 
mainder of their route. After many adventures they 
succeeded in reaching Byzantium, and subsequently 
engaged to serve the Lacedemonians in a war which 
Sparta had just declared against the Persians. 

In the spring of 399 B.C., Thibron, the Lacedaemoni- 
an commander, arrived in Ionia, and the remainder 
of the Ten Thousand Greeks became incorporated 
with his army. 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE SUPREMACY OF SPARTA, 404-371 B.C. 

Character of the Spartan Rule. — After the fall of Ath- 
ens Sparta stood without a rival in Greece. In the 
various cities which had belonged to the Athenian 
empire Lysander established an oligarchical Council 
of Ten, called a Decarchy, subject to the control of a 
Spartan harmost. The decarchies, however, remained 
only a short time in power, since the Spartan gov- 
ernment regarded them with jealousy as the partisans 
of Lysander; but harmosts continued to be placed in 
every state subject to their empire. The government 
of the harmosts was corrupt and oppressive ; no jus- 
tice could be obtained against them by an appeal to 
the Spartan authorities at home ; and the Grecian 
cities soon had cause to regret the milder and more 
equitable sway of Athens. 

Agesilaus becomes King of Sparta (397 B.C.). — On the 
death of Agis in 397 B.C., his half-brother Agesilaus 
was appointed king, to the exclusion of Leoty chides, 
the son of Agis. This was mainly effected by the 
powerful influence of Lysander, who erroneously con- 
sidered Agesilaus to be of a yielding and manage- 
able disposition, and hoped by taking advantage 
of those qualities to extend his own influence, and 
under the name of another to be in reality king him- 
self. 

16 



242 HISTORY OF GREECE. Chap. XVI 

Agesilaus was now more than forty years of age, 
and was esteemed a model of those virtues which 
characterized the true Spartan. He was obedient to 
the constituted authorities, emulous to excel, coura- 
geous, energetic, capable of bearing all sorts of hard- 
ship and fatigue, simple and frugal in his mode of life. 
To these severer qualities he added the popular attrac- 
tions of an agreeable countenance and pleasing ad- 
dress. His physical defects at first stood in the way 
of his promotion. He was not only low in stature, 
but also lame ; and there was an ancient oracle which 
warned the Spartans to beware of "a lame reign." 
The ingenuity of Lysander, assisted probably by the 
popular qualities of Agesilaus, contrived to overcome 
this objection by interpreting a lame reign to mean 
not any-bodily defect in the king, but the reign of 
one who was not a genuine descendant of Heracles. 
Once possessed of power, Agesilaus supplied any de- 
fect in his title by the prudence and policy of his 
conduct ; and, by the marked deference which he 
paid both to the Ephors and the Senators, he suc- 
ceeded in gaining for himself more real power than 
had been enjoyed by any of his predecessors. 

Sparta at War with the Persians in Asia Minor (399 B.C.). 
— The affairs of Asia Minor soon began to draw the 
attention of Agesilaus to that quarter. The assist- 
ance lent to Cyrus by the Spartans was no secret at 
the Persian court ; and Tissaphernes, who had been 
rewarded for his fidelity with the provinces which 
had been ruled by Cyrus in addition to his own, no 
sooner returned to his government than he attacked 
the Ionian cities, then under the protection of Sparta. 
A considerable Lacedaemonian force under Thibron 
was despatched to their assistance, which, as related 



B.C. 396 AGESILAUS PROCEEDS TO ASIA MINOR 243 

in the preceding chapter, was joined by the remnant 
of the Greeks who had served under Cyrus. Thi- 
bron, however, proved so inefficient a commander that 
he was suspended towards the end of 399 B.C., and 
Dercyllidas appointed in his place. The new leader 
was more successful. Within eight days he deprived 
Pharnabazus of all iEolis, and forced the satrap to 
conclude a truce with him. The next year (398 b.c.) 
was largely spent in building a Avail across the Thra- 
cian Chersonesus, to protect the Greek cities on the 
peninsula from the ravages of the barbarians. In 397 
B.C. Dercyllidas marched into Caria and confronted 
the united armies of Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus. 
Tissaphernes, however, was afraid to venture upon an 
action, and an armistice was agreed to for the purpose 
of treating for a peace. 

Pharnabazus availed himself of this armistice to 
make preparations for a renewal of the war. He 
obtained a grant of money from the king, and began 
to organize a fleet in Phoenicia and Cilicia. This was 
intrusted to the Athenian admiral Conon, of whom 
we now first hear again after a lapse of seven years 
since his defeat at ^Egospotami. After that disas- 
trous battle Conon fled with eight triremes to Cyprus, 
where he was now living under the protection of 
Evagoras, king of Salamis. 

Agesilaus proceeds to Asia Minor (396 B.C.).— It was the 
news of these preparations that induced Agesilaus, 
on the suggestion of Lysander, to volunteer his ser- 
vices against the Persians. He proposed to take 
with him only thirty full Spartan citizens, or peers, 
to act as a sort of council, together with 2000 Neo- 
damodes, or emancipated Helots, and 6000 troops 
of the allies. Lysander, of course, expected to be 



244 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVI 

the virtual commander of the expedition of which 
Agesilaus was nominally the head. 

Since the time of Agamemnon no Grecian king had 
led an army into Asia, and Agesilaus availed himself 
of the prestige of that precedent in order to attract 
recruits to his standard. The SjDartan kings claimed 
to inherit the sceptre of Agamemnon ; and, to render 
the parallel more complete, Agesilaus proceeded to 
Aulis, intending to offer sacrifice where the Homeric 
hero had sacrificed before his departure for Troy. 
But as he had neglected to ask the permission of the 
Thebans, and conducted the sacrifice and solemnities 
by means of his own prophet, and in a manner at 
variance with the usual rites of the temple, the The- 
bans were offended, and prevented the completion of 
the sacrifice — an insult which Agesilaus never forgave. 

It was in 396 b.c. that Agesilaus arrived at Ephe- 
sus, and took the command in Asia. He demanded 
of the Persians the complete independence of the 
Greek cities in Asia ; and, in order that there might 
be time to communicate with the Persian court, the 
armistice was renewed. During this interval of re- 
pose, Lysander, by his arrogance and pretensions, 
offended both Agesilaus and the thirty Spartans. 
Agesilaus, determined to uphold his dignity, sub- 
jected Lysander to so many humiliations that he was 
at last fain to request his dismissal from Ephesus, and 
was accordingly sent to the Hellespont, where he did 
good service to the Spartan interests. 

Defeat of the Persians and Death of Tissaphernes (395 
B.C.).— Meanwhile Tissaphernes, having received rein- 
forcements, sent a message to Agesilaus, ordering 
him to quit Asia. Agesilaus immediately made prep- 
arations as if he would attack Tissaphernes in Caria ; 



B.C. 395 DEFEAT OF THE PERSIANS 245 

but, having thus put the enemy on a false scent, he 
suddenly turned northward into Phrygia, the satrapy 
of Pharnabazus, and marched without opposition to 
the neighborhood of Dascylium, the residence of the 
satrap himself. Here, however, he was repulsed by 
the Persian cavalry. He now proceeded into winter- 
quarters at Ephesus, where he employed himself in 
organizing a body of cavalry to compete with the 
Persians. During the winter the army was brought 
into excellent condition ; and Agesilaus gave out in 
the spring of 395 B.C. that he should march directly 
into Lydia. Tissaphernes, suspecting another feint, 
again despatched his infantry to Caria, and stationed 
his cavalry in the plain of the Mseander. But this 
time Agesilaus marched as he had announced, and in 
three days arrived unopposed on the banks of the 
Pactolus before the Persian cavalry could be recalled. 
When they at last came up, the newly raised Grecian 
horse, assisted by the peltasts and some of the young- 
er and more active hoplites, soon succeeded in put- 
ting them to flight. The Greeks pursued them across 
the Pactolus and captured their camp, which contained 
much booty and several camels. 

Agesilaus was now free to ravage the rich district 
in the immediate neighborhood of Sardis, the resi- 
dence of Tissaphernes. But the career of that timid 
and treacherous satrap was drawing to a close. The 
queen-mother, Parysatis, who had succeeded in regain- 
ing her influence over Artaxerxes, caused an order to 
be sent down from Susa for his execution ; in pursu- 
ance of which he was seized in a bath at Colossae, and 
beheaded. Tithraustes, who had been intrusted with 
the execution of this order, succeeded Tissaphernes 
in the satrapy, and immediately reopened negotiations 



246 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XYI 

with Agesilaus, offering to allow the Greek cities of 
Asia to govern themselves, provided they paid to the 
kin^ the same tribute as in former times. Agesilaus 
declared that he was unable to conclude such a com- 
pact without consulting the authorities at home. 
Negotiations seem to have progressed no further ; 
but meanwhile Tithraustes, by a subsidy of thirty 
talents, induced Agesilaus to move out of his sat- 
rapy into that of Pharnabazus. 

Agesilaus is recalled to Greece (394 B.C.)-— During this 
march into Phrygia Agesilaus received a new com- 
mission from home, appointing him the head of the 
naval as well as of the land force — two commands 
never before united in a single Spartan. He named 
his brother-in-law, Pisander, commander of the fleet. 
In the following year (394 B.C.) he set about preparing 
for an expedition on a grand scale into the interior of 
Asia Minor. Perhaps he dreamed of such conquests 
as Alexander realized sixty years later. But the 
time was not yet ripe. Agesilaus was not an abso- 
lute monarch, as was Alexander, and Sparta was not 
the unquestioned mistress of Greece, as was Mace- 
donia in the days of Alexander. On the eve of his 
great expedition, Agesilaus was suddenly recalled 
home to avert the dangers which threatened his na- 
tive country, and he had no choice but to obey the 
summons. 

War between Sparta and Thebes.— The jealousy and 
ill-will with which the newly acquired empire of the 
Spartans was regarded by the other Grecian states 
had not escaped the notice of the Persians ; and when 
Tithraustes succeeded to the satrapy of Tissaphernes, 
he resolved to avail himself of this feeling by excit- 
ing a war against Sparta in the heart of Greece itself. 



B.C. 395 THE BATTLE OF HALIARTUS 247 

With this view be despatched one Timocrates, a Rho- 
dian, to the leading Grecian cities, carrying with him 
a sum of fifty talents to be distributed among tbe 
chief men in each, for the purpose of rousing them to 
active measures against Sparta. Timocrates was 
successful in Thebes, Corinth, and Argos ; in Athens 
he seems to have found no one to accept his offered 
bribes. 

Hostilities were at first confined to Sparta and 
Thebes. The anti-Spartan party in Thebes instigated 
a quarrel between the Phocians and Locrians, and 
then prevailed upon their countrymen to march to 
the assistance of the Locrians, who were allies of 
Thebes. As the conspirators had anticipated, the 
Phocians now invoked the aid of the Lacedaemonians, 
who, elated at the prosperous state of their affairs in 
Asia, and, moreover, desirous of avenging the affronts 
they had received from the Thebans, readily listened 
to the appeal. Lysander, who seems to have taken 
an active part in promoting the war, was directed to 
levy troops in the states of northern Greece w T hich 
were allied with Sparta, and proceed to the town of 
Haliartus ; and it was arranged that king Pausanias 
should join him on a fixed day under the walls of 
that town, with the Lacedaemonians and their Pelo- 
ponnesian allies. 

Lysander defeated and slain at Haliartus (395 B. C.).— 
Nothing could more strikingly denote the altered 
state of feeling in Greece than the request for assist- 
ance which the Thebans, thus menaced, made to their 
ancient enemies and rivals, the Athenians. Nor w r ere 
the Athenians backward in responding to the appeal. 
Lysander arrived at Haliartus before Pausanias, and 
undertook to capture the town by storm. The The- 



248 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVI 

bans, however, marched to its relief, and a battle was 
fought under the walls, in which the army of Lysan- 
der was routed and he himself slain (395 B.C.). His 
troops disbanded and dispersed in the night-time. 
Thus, when Pausanias at last came up, he found no 
army to unite with ; and as an Athenian force had 
arrived, he now, with the advice of his officers, took 
the humiliating step — always deemed a confession of 
inferiority — of requesting a truce in order to recover 
the bodies of those who had fallen in the preceding 
battle. Even this, however, the Thebans would not 
grant except on the condition that the Lacedaemo- 
nians should immediately quit their territory. With 
these terms Pausanias was forced to comply ; and, 
taking up the bodies of Lysander and his fallen com- 
rades, the Lacedaemonians dejectedly pursued their 
homeward march. On reaching Sparta, Pausanias 
was brought to trial for his life on the charge of 
cowardice and neglect of duty. He succeeded, how- 
ever, in effecting his escape to Tegea. Sentence of 
death was pronounced upon him in his absence, and 
he was succeeded by his son Agesipolis. 

The Corinthian War.— The enemies of Sparta took 
fresh courage from this disaster to her arms. Athens, 
Corinth, and Argos now formed with Thebes a solemn 
alliance against her. The league was soon joined by 
the Euboeans, the Acarnanians, and other Grecian 
states. In the spring of 394 b.c. the allies assembled 
at Corinth, and the war, which had been hitherto re- 
garded as merely Boeotian, was now called the Corin- 
thian War, by which name it is known in history. 
This threatening aspect of affairs determined the 
Ephors to recall Agesilaus, as already related. 

The Battle of Corinth (394 B.C.).— The allies were soon 



B.C. 394 THE BATTLE OF CORINTH 249 

in a condition to take the field with a force of 24,000 
hoplites, of whom one-fourth were Athenians, together 
with a considerable body of light-armed troops and 
cavalry. The Lacedaemonians had also made active 
preparations. In the neighborhood of Corinth a bat- 
tle was fought, in which the Lacedaemonians gained 
the victory, though their allied troops were put to 
the rout. 

Homeward March of Agesilaus: the Battle of Cnidus.— 
Agesilaus, who had relinquished with a heavy heart 
his projected expedition into Asia, was now on his 
homeward march. By the promise of rewards he had 
persuaded the bravest and most efficient soldiers in his 
army to accompany him, among whom were many of 
the Ten Thousand, including Xenophon himself. The 
route of Agesilaus was much the same as the one 
formerly traversed by Xerxes, and the camels which 
accompanied the army gave it somewhat of an Ori- 
ental aspect. At Amphipolis he received the news 
of the victory of Corinth, but his heart was so full 
of schemes against Persia that the feeling which it 
awakened in his bosom was rather one of regret that 
so many Greeks had fallen, whose united efforts 
might have emancipated Asia Minor, than of joy at 
the success of his countrymen. Having forced his 
way through a desultory opposition offered by the 
Thessalian cavalry, he crossed the Achaean Mountains, 
and marched unopposed the rest of the way through 
the pass of Thermopylae to the frontiers of Phocis 
and Boeotia. Here the evil tidings reached him of 
the defeat and death of his brother-in-law Pisander, 
in a great sea-fight off Cnidus in Caria. Conon, with 
the assistance of Pharnabazus, had succeeded in rais- 
ing a powerful fleet, partly Phoenician and partly 



250 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVI 

Grecian, with which he either destroyed or captured 
more than half of the Lacedaemonian fleet. A^es- 
ilaus, fearing the impression which such sad news 
might produce upon his men, announced that the 
Lacedaemonian fleet had gained a victory ; and, hav- 
ing offered sacrifice as if for a victory, he ordered 
an advance. 

The Battle of Coronea. — Agesilaus soon came up with 
the confederate army, which had prepared to oppose 
him in the plain of Coronea. The Thebans succeeded 
in driving in the Orchomenians, who formed the left 
wing of the army of Agesilaus, and penetrated as far 
as the baggage in the rear. But on the remainder of 
the line Agesilaus was victorious, and the Thebans 
now saw themselves cut off from their companions, 
who had retreated to Mount Helicon. Facing about 
and forming in compact order, the Thebans sought to 
rejoin the main body, but they were opposed by Ages- 
ilaus and his troops. The shock of the conflicting 
masses which ensued was one of the most terrible re- 
corded in the annals of Grecian warfare. The The- 
bans finally forced their way through, but not without 
severe loss. Agesilaus himself was severely wounded, 
and was only rescued from death by the devoted cour- 
age of the fifty Spartans who formed his body-guard. 
His victory was not very decisive; but the Thebans 
tacitly acknowledged their defeat by soliciting the 
customary truce for the burial of their dead. 

Agesilaus, on his arrival at Sparta, was received 
with the most lively demonstrations of gratitude and 
esteem, and became henceforward the sole director of 
Spartan policy. 

Loss of the Spartan Maritime Empire. — Thus, within 
a few months, the Lacedaemonians had fought two 



B.C. 393-387 PROGRESS OF THE CORINTHIAN WAR 251 

battles on land and one at sea ; namely, those of 
Corinth, Coronea, and Cnidus. But, though they had 
been victorious in the land engagements, they were 
so little decisive as to lead to no important result, 
while their defeat at Cnidus produced the most dis- 
astrous consequences. It was followed by the loss 
of nearly all their maritime empire, even faster than 
they had acquired it after the battle of ^Egospotami; 
for, as Conon and Pharnabazus sailed with their vic- 
torious fleet from island to island and from port to 
port, their approach was everywhere the signal for 
the flight or expulsion of the Spartan harmosts. 

Conon rebuilds the Long Walls (393 B.C.)-— In the 
spring of the following year Conon and Pharna- 
bazus sailed to the isthmus of Corinth, then occupied 
as a central post by the allies. The appearance of a 
Persian fleet in the Saronic Gulf was a strange sight 
to Grecian eyes, and one which might have served as 
a severe comment on the effect of their suicidal wars. 
Conon dexterously availed himself of the hatred of 
Pharnabazus towards Sparta to procure a boon for 
his native city. As the satrap was on the point of 
proceeding homewards, Conon obtained leave to em- 
ploy the seamen in rebuilding the fortifications of 
Piraeus and the Long Walls of Athens. Pharnabazus 
also granted a large sum of money for that purpose ; 
and Conon had thus the glory of appearing like a sec- 
ond Themistocles, the deliverer and restorer of his 
country. 

Progress of the Corinthian War.— Meanwhile the terri- 
tory of Corinth was the scene of a desultory warfare, 
which continued during the following years without 
being marked by any decisive engagement. One of 
the most important events of this period was the de- 



252 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVI 

struction of a whole Lacedaemonian mora, or bat- 
talion, by the light - armed troops of the Athenian 
Iphicrates (about 390 B.C.). Iphicrates was in com- 
mand of a body of Athenians and mercenaries, con- 
sisting of peltasts.* For this force he introduced 
those improved arms and tactics which form an 
epoch in the Grecian art of war. His object was to 
combine, as far as possible, the peculiar advantages 
of the hoplites and light-armed troops. He substi- 
tuted a linen corselet for the coat of mail worn by 
the hoplites, and lessened the shield, while he ren- 
dered the spear and sword of the hoplite more effec- 
tive by lengthening them both considerably ; each 
soldier seems also to have been provided with the 
missile weapons of the peltast. These troops soon 
proved very effective. After gaining several vic- 
tories, he ventured to make a sally from Corinth and 
attack a Lacedaemonian mora. Avoiding a hand-to- 
hand contest, the peltasts slew so many of the Lace- 
daemonians with their missile weapons that at length 
the latter broke and fled in confusion. They were 
hotly pursued by the peltasts, and but very few of the 
entire force succeeded in effecting their escape. 

The Peace of Antalcidas(387B.C.)— The maritime war 
was prosecuted with vigor. Thrasybulus, and after 
his death Iphicrates, were successful upon the coast 
of Asia Minor, and made the Athenians again masters 
of the Hellespont. Under these circumstances, the 
Lacedaemonians resolved to spare no efforts to regain 
the good- will of the Persians. Antalcidas, the Lace- 
daemonian commander on the Asiatic coast, entered 
into negotiations with Tiribazus, who was now satrap 

* So called from the pelte, or kind of shield which they 
carried. 



B.C. 387 THE PEACE OF ANTALCIDAS 253 

in Ionia, in order to bring about a general peace under 
the mediation of Persia. Antalcidas repaired to the 
Persian court, and prevailed on the Persian monarch 
both to define the terms of a peace and to declare 
war against those who should reject it. Antalcidas 
and Tiribazus returned to the coasts of Asia Minor 
armed with the royal mandate, and commissioned to 
carry it into execution. Resuming command of the 
Lacedaemonian fleet, Antalcidas was joined in the 
Hellespont, where Iphicrates and the Athenians were 
still predominant, by a contingent of Persian ships 
and by twenty triremes which Dionysius of Syracuse 
had placed at the service of the Lacedaemonians. 
The overwhelming force which Antalcidas now com- 
manded, the largest that had been seen in the Helles- 
pont since the battle of iEgospotami, rendered all 
resistance hopeless. The supplies of corn from the 
Euxine no longer found their way to Athens ; and 
the Athenians, depressed at once both by what they 
felt and by what they anticipated, began to long for 
peace. As without the assistance of Athens it seem- 
ed hopeless for the other allies to struggle against 
Sparta, all Greece was inclined to listen to an ac- 
commodation. 

Under these circumstances deputies from the Gre- 
cian states were summoned to meet Tiribazus ; who, 
after exhibiting to them the royal seal of Persia, 
read to them the following terms of a peace : " King 
Artaxerxes thinks it just that the cities in Asia and 
the islands of Clazomenae and Cyprus should belong 
to him. He also thinks it just to leave all the other 
Grecian cities, both small and great, independent — 
except Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros, which are to be- 
long to Athens, as of old. Should any refuse to 



254 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVI 

accept this peace, I will make war upon them, along 
with those who are of the same mind, both by land 
and sea, with ships and with money." All the Grecian 
states except Thebes accepted these terms. Thebes 
at first refused to do so. The smaller Boeotian cities, 
being members of a league of which Thebes was the 
head, were practically subject to her ; but the terms 
of the peace secured independence to all Grecian 
cities, great or small, and Thebes was extremely un- 
willing to lose her subject allies. One great object, 
however, which Sparta had in view in concluding 
the peace was' to cripple Thebes, and Agesilaus was 
the implacable enemy of that city. He accordingly 
made preparations for an expedition to Bceotia. But 
before he was ready to begin his march, the Thebans 
sent messengers to him agreeing to acknowledge the 
independence of the Boeotian towns and become par- 
ties to the treaty. 

This disgraceful peace, called the Peace of Antal- 
cidas, w r as concluded in the year 387 B.C. By it 
Greece seemed prostrated at the feet of the barbari- 
ans ; for its very terms, engraven on stone and set up 
in the cities of Greece, recognized the Persian king 
as the arbiter of her destinies. Although Athens 
cannot be entirely exonerated from the blame of this 
transaction, the chief guilt rests upon Sparta, whose 
designs were far deeper and more hypocritical than 
they appeared. Under the specious pretext of secur- 
ing the independence of the Grecian cities, her only 
object was to break up the confederacies under Athens 
and Thebes, and, with the assistance of Persia, to pave 
the way for her own absolute dominion in Greece. 

The Spartans seize the Citadel of Thebes (383 B.C.).— 
Sparta first turned her attention to Mantinea and 



B.C. 3S3 THE SPARTANS SEIZE THE CADMEA 255 

Phlius. The wall of the former city was destroyed, 
and the inhabitants were compelled to distribute 
themselves in villages (385 B.C.). The Phliasians, in 
obedience to an order sent from Sparta, readmitted 
all their exiles, who were of course friends of the 
Lacedaemonians (384 B.C.). Next, by an act of dis- 
graceful treachery, the Spartans obtained possession 
of Thebes. They had declared war against Olynthus, 
a town situated at the head of the Toronaic Gulf in 
the peninsula of Chalcidice, the head of a powerful 
confederation which included several of the adjacent 
Grecian cities. The Thebans were about to enter 
into an alliance with Olynthus, and had forbidden 
any of their citizens to join the Lacedaemonian army 
destined to act against it ; but they were not strong 
enough to prevent its marching through their terri- 
tory. Phoebidas, who was conducting a Lacedae- 
monian force against Olynthus, halted on his way 
through Boeotia not far from Thebes, where he was 
visited by Leontiades, one of the two polemarchs of 
the city, and the leader of the Lacedaemonian party in 
Thebes. It happened that the festival of the Thes- 
mophoria was celebrating, during which the Cadmea, 
or Theban Acropolis, was given up for the exclusive 
use of the women. The opportunity seemed favor- 
able for a surprise; and Leontiades and Phoebidas 
concerted a plot to seize it. In pursuance of the plan 
which was devised, the Theban returned to the city 
while Phoebidas pretended to resume his march ; but 
Leontiades, finding that the coast was clear, mounted 
his horse, rejoined the Spartan army, and led the 
way towards the Cadmea. It was a sultry summer's 
afternoon, so that the very streets were deserted ; 
and Phoebidas, without encountering any opposition, 



256 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVI 

seized the citadel (383 b.c). This treacherous act 
during a period of profound peace awakened the live- 
liest indignation throughout Greece. Sparta herself 
could not venture to justify it openly, and Phcebidas 
was made the scape-goat of her affected displeasure. 
As a sort of atonement to the violated feeling of 
Greece, he was censured, fined, and deprived of his 
command. But that this punishment was a mere 
farce is perfectly evident ; and, however indignant 
the Lacedaemonians affected to appear at the act of 
Phcebidas, they took care to reap the fruits of it by 
retaining: their garrison in the Cadmea. 

The once haughty Thebes was now enrolled a mem- 
ber of the Lacedaemonian alliance, and furnished her 
contingent — the grateful offering of the new Theban 
government — for the war which Sparta was prosecut- 
ing with redoubled vigor against Olynthus. This 
city was compelled to sue for peace in 379 B.C., and 
was received into the Lacedaemonian alliance. Many 
of the cities of the Olynthian confederacy hastened 
to make their submission to Sparta. 

Sparta at the Height of her Power (379 B.C.).— The 
power of Sparta on land had now attained its greatest 
height. Her unpopularity in Greece was commensu- 
rate with the extent of her harshly administered do- 
minion. She was leagued on all sides with the enemies 
of Grecian freedom — with the Persians, with Amyn- 
tas, king of Macedonia, and with Dionysius, tyrant of 
Syracuse. But she had now reached the turning-point 
of her fortunes, and her successes, which had been 
earned without scruple, were soon to be followed by 
misfortunes and disgrace. The first blow came from 
Thebes, where she had perpetrated her most signal 
injustice. 



B.C. 379 THE LIBERATION OF THEBES 257 

The Liberation of Thebes (379 B.C.).— That city had 
been for more than four years in the hands of Leon- 
tiades and the Spartan party. During this time great 
discontent had grown up among the resident citizens; 
and there was also a party of exasperated exiles, 
who had taken refuge at Athens. Among these was 
Pelopidas, a young man of birth and fortune, who 
had already distinguished himself by his disinter- 
este<J* patriotism and ardent character, and who was 
destined to become one of the most illustrious of T he- 
bans. The exiles at Athens gained the opportunity, 
which they had long sought, of delivering their city 
from Sparta through the assistance of a certain Phyl- 
lidas, who was secretary to the Theban polemarchs. 
Melon, one of the exiles, was a friend of Phyllidas, 
and when the latter visited Athens formed a plan with 
him for the overthrow of the Lacedaemonian faction. 
Accordingly Melon, Pelopidas, and five other exiles 
made their way by night to Boeotia, and on the next 
day towards dusk straggled through the gates of 
Thebes like workmen returning from the fields. 
They found shelter and concealment in the house of 
one Charon. Meanwhile Phyllidas had been doing 
his part towards carrying out the projected scheme. 
He had prepared a banquet for the polemarchs Ar- 
chias and Philippus, and it was arranged that after 
they had partaken freely of wine the conspirators 
were to be introduced, disguised as women, and to com- 
plete their work by the assassination of the polemarchs. 
Plutarch relates that while the polemarchs were at 
table a messenger arrived from Athens with a letter 
for Archias, in which the whole plot was accurately 
detailed. The messenger, in accordance with his in- 
structions, informed Archias that the letter related to 

17 



258 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap, XVI 

matters of great importance. But the polemarch, 
completely engrossed by the pleasures of the table, 
thrust the letter under the pillow of his couch, ex- 
claiming, " Serious matters to-morrow." 

The hour of their fate was now ripe. The conspira- 
tors, disguised with veils, and in the ample folds of 
female attire, were ushered into the room. They im- 
mediately unveiled themselves and struck down both 
Archias and Philippus. They then went to the house 
of Leontiades, whom they also despatched. 

The news of the revolution soon spread abroad. 
Proclamations were issued announcing: that Thebes 
was free, and calling upon all citizens who valued 
their liberty to gather in assembly. As soon as day 
dawned, and the citizens became aware that they 
were summoned to vindicate their liberty, their joy 
and enthusiasm were unbounded. The conspirators 
were introduced to the assembly, crowned with gar- 
lands by the priests and welcomed with acclamations 
by the people. Three of them, Pelopidas, Melon, and 
Charon, were chosen as the first restored Boeotarchs. 

Meanwhile the remainder of the Theban exiles, ac- 
companied by a body of Athenians, assembled on the 
frontiers of Bceotia, and at the first news of the suc- 
cess of the conspiracy hastened to Thebes to com- 
plete the revolution. The Thebans, under their new 
Boeotarchs, now made an assault upon the Cadmea ; 
but the Lacedemonians speedily capitulated, and were 
allowed to march out with the honors of war. 

A New Athenian Confederacy (378 B.C.).— From this 
time must be dated the era of a new political com- 
bination in Greece. Athens strained every nerve to 
organize a fresh confederacy. Thebes did not scruple 
to enroll herself as one of its earliest members. The 



B.C. 378 A NEW ATHENIAN CONFEDERACY 259 

basis on which the confederacy was formed closely 
resembled that of Delos. The cities composing it 
were to be independent, and to send deputies to a 
congress at Athens ; if any member of the league 
was attacked, the other confederate cities were bound 
to defend it to the best of their ability, each furnish- 
ing its contingent of troops or ships. At a later pe- 
riod the smaller cities of the confederacy, instead of 
contributing their quota to the allied force, paid a 
fixed assessment in money. But care was taken to 
banish all recollections connected with the former 
unpopularity of the Athenian empire. The name of 
the tribute was no longer phoros, but syntaxis, or 
" contribution." The confederacy, which ultimately 
numbered seventy cities, was organized and extended 
chiefly through the exertions of Chabrias, and of 
Timotheus, the son of Conon. Nor were the Thebans 
less zealous, among whom the Spartan government had 
left a lively feeling of antipathy. The military force 
was put in the best training, and it was at about this 
time that the famous " Sacred Band" was instituted. 
This band was a regiment of three hundred hoplites. 
It was supported at the public expense, and kept con- 
stantly under arms. It was composed of young and 
chosen citizens of the best families, and was said to 
have been organized in such a manner that each man 
had at his side a dear and intimate friend. Its spe- 
cial duty was the defence of the Cadmea. 

Epaminondas.— The Thebans had always been excel- 
lent soldiers; but their good fortune now gave them 
the greatest general that Greece had hitherto seen. 
Epaminondas, who now appears conspicuoush r in 
public life, deserves the reputation not merely of a 
Theban, but of a Grecian hero. Sprung from a poor 



260 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVI 

but ancient family, Epaminondas possessed all the 
best qualities of his nation without that heaviness, 
either of body or of mind, which was thought to 
characterize the masses of the Theban people. By the 
study of philosophy and b}^ other intellectual pursuits 
his mind was enlarged beyond the sphere of vulgar 
superstition, and emancipated from that timorous 
interpretation of nature which caused some of the 
leading men of those days to behold a portent in the 
most ordinary phenomenon. A still rarer accomplish- 
ment for a Theban was that of eloquence, which he 
possessed in no ordinary degree. These intellectual 
qualities were matched by moral virtues worthy to 
consort with them. Though eloquent, he was dis- 
creet ; though poor, he was neither avaricious nor 
corrupt ; though naturally firm and courageous, he 
was averse to cruelty, violence, and bloodshed ; though 
a patriot, he was a stranger to personal ambition and 
scorned the little arts by which popularity is too often 
courted. Pelopidas was his bosom friend, and during 
the next few years was the more prominent of the 
two. It was not until later that the military genius 
of Epaminondas shone forth in its full lustre. 

Spartan Invasions of Boeotia: the Battle of Naxos(376 B.C.). 
— The Spartans were resolved to avenge the repulse 
they had received ; and in the winter of 379-378 b.c. 
king Cleombrotus marched with a large army into 
Bceotia. He was unable, however, to effect anything 
decisive, and subsequent invasions, led by Agesilaus 
in the years 378 and 377 B.C., were attended with the 
like result. In the following year (376 B.C.) the Spar- 
tans again undertook to march into Boeotia, but were 
met in the passes of Mount Citha3i*on by a force of The- 
bans and Athenians and compelled to retreat. Taught 



B.C. 375 THE BATTLE OF TEGYRA 261 

by this experience, the Lacedaemonians now resolved 
to fit out a fleet in order to transport troops to Bceotia 
by sea, and at the same time to intercept Athenian 
grain-ships. But the Athenians also manned a fleet 
and won a decisive victory over their enemies in the 
battle of Naxos (376 B.C.). Athens was now once more 
mistress of the seas. Chabrias, the victor of Naxos, 
sailed to Thrace and carried on successful operations 
against the barbarians, while Timotheus, with another 
fleet, sailed round Peloponnesus and reduced the isl- 
and of Corcyra (375 b.c). In the following year 
peace was concluded between Athens and Sparta, 
but the treaty had hardly been ratified when the 
Spartans alleged that it had been violated by Timo- 
theus, and hostilities were resumed. Sparta made an 
unsuccessful expedition against the Corcyrseans, who 
were supported by the Athenians ; but the war was 
not prosecuted with great energy or earnestness on 
either side. 

The Battle of Tegyra (375 B.C.). — Meanwhile Bceotia 
had been free for some years from Spartan invasion. 
Thebes employed this time in extending her domin- 
ion over the neighboring cities. One of her most im- 
portant successes during this period was the victory 
gained by Pelopidas, near Tegyra, over a Lacedaemoni- 
an force which constituted the garrison of Orchome- 
nus. Pelopidas had with him only the Sacred Band 
and a small body of cavalry w T hen he fell in with the 
Lacedaemonians, who were twice as numerous. He 
did not, however, shrink from the conflict on this 
account ; and when one of his men, running up to 
him, exclaimed, " We are fallen into the midst of the 
enemy," he replied, " Why so, more than they into 
the midst of us ?" In the battle which ensued the 



262 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVI 

two Spartan commanders fell at the first charge, and 
their men were put to the rout. So signal a victory 
inspired the Thebans with new confidence and vigor, 
as it showed that Sparta was not invincible even in a 
pitched battle, and with the advantage of numbers 
on her side. By the year 374 B.C. the Thebans had 
succeeded in reducing almost all the Boeotian towns 
to subiection. They also destroyed the restored city 
of Platsea, and obliged its inhabitants once more to 
seek refuge at Athens. 

Peace between Athens and Sparta: the Thebans are ex- 
cluded from the Treaty (37 1 B.C.).— The successes of the 
Thebans revived the jealousy and distrust of Athens. 
Prompted by these feelings, the Athenians sent am- 
bassadors to Sparta to treat for peace, and urged the 
Thebans to do likewise. The other allies of Athens 
also sent deputies, and a congress was opened in Sparta 
in the early summer of 371 B.C. Among the Theban 
representatives was Epaminondas, then one of the 
Bceotarchs. The terms of a peace were agreed upon 
by which the independence of the various Grecian 
cities was to be recognized, and the Spartan harmosts 
and garrisons everywhere dismissed. Sparta ratified 
the treaty for herself and her allies ; but Athens took 
the oath only for herself, and was followed separately 
by her allies, including the Thebans. On the follow- 
ing day, however, the Theban envoys returned and 
requested that the word " Boeotians" should be sub- 
stituted for " Thebans" in the treaty, and that they 
should be thereby recognized as representatives of 
the united state of Boeotia. But Athens and Sparta, 
in their jealousy of Thebes, had sought above all to 
establish the independence of the Boeotian towns ; and 
nothing was further from their purposes or desires 



B.C. 371 PEACE BETWEEN SPARTA AND ATHENS 



263 



than to concede the sovereignty of Thebes in Bceotia. 
Agesilaus therefore replied to the Theban envoys 
that he would change nothing which was written ; 
but if the Thebans did not wish to be included in 
the treaty he would strike out their name. This he 
straightway proceeded to do. 

Thus Thebes ceased to be an ally of Athens, and was 
excluded from the peace between Athens and Sparta. 
The result with regard to Thebes and Sparta will 
appear in the following chapter. 




COIN OF ORCHOMENUS 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE SUPREMACY OF THEBES, B.C. 371-362 

The Battle of Leuctra (371 B.C.). —In pursuance of 
the treaty, the Lacedaemonians withdrew their har- 
mosts and garrisons, while the Athenians recalled 
their fleet from the Ionian Sea. Only one feeling 
prevailed at Sparta — a desire to crush Thebes. This 
city was regarded as doomed to destruction ; and it 
was not for a moment imagined that, single-handed, 
she would be able to resist the might of Sparta. At 
the time when the peace was concluded Cleombrotus 
happened to be in Phocis at the head of a Lacedae- 
monian army, and he now received orders to invade 
Boeotia without delay. The Thebans, on their side, 
were equally determined on resistance. The two 
armies met on the memorable plain of Leuctra, near 
Thespiae. The forces on each side are not accurately 
known, but the Thebans were undoubtedly outnum- 
bered by the Lacedaemonians. The military genius 
of Epaminondas, however, compensated for any in- 
feriority of numbers b}^ novelty of tactics. Up to 
this time Grecian battles had been uniformly con- 
ducted by a general attack in line. Epaminondas 
now first adopted the manoeuvre, used with such suc- 
cess by Napoleon in modern times, of concentrating 
heavy masses on a given point of the enemy's array. 
Having formed his left wing into a dense column fifty 



B.C. 371 THE BATTLE OF LEUCTRA 265 

men deep, he directed it against the Lacedemonian 
right, containing the best troops in their army, drawn 
up twelve deep, and led by Cleombrotus in person. 
The shock was terrible. Cleombrotus himself was 
mortally wounded in the onset, and with difficulty car- 
ried off by his comrades. Numbers of his officers, as 
well as of his men, were slain, and the whole wing 
was broken and compelled to retreat. The loss of 
the Thebans was small compared with that of the 
Lacedaemonians. Out of 700 Spartans in the army of 
the latter, 400 had fallen ; and their king also had 
been slain, an event which had not occurred since the 
fatal day of Thermopylae. 

The victory of Leuctra was gained within three 
weeks after the exclusion of the Thebans from the 
peace. The effect of it throughout Greece was elec- 
trical. It was everywhere felt that a new military 
power had arisen— that the prestige of the old Spar- 
tan discipline and tactics had departed. Yet at 
Sparta itself, though the reverse was the greatest that 
her arms had ever sustained, the news of it was re- 
ceived with an assumption of indifference character- 
istic of the people. The Ephors forbade the chorus 
of men, who were celebrating in the theatre the fes- 
tival of the GymnopcMia, to be interrupted. They 
contented themselves with directing that the names of 
the slain be communicated to their relatives, and with 
issuing an order forbidding the women to wail and 
mourn. Those whose friends had fallen appeared 
abroad on the morrow with joyful countenances, 
while the relatives of the survivors seemed over- 
whelmed with grief and shame. 

Jason of Pherae: his Mediation.— Immediately after the 
battle of Leuctra the Thebans sent to Jason of Phera?, 



266 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVII 

in Thessaly, to solicit his aid against the Lacedemoni- 
ans. This despot was one of the most remarkable men 
of the period. He was Tagus, or Generalissimo, of all 
Thessaly ; and several tribes of iEtolia and Epirns 
were subject to him. He was a man of boundless am- 
bition, and meditated nothing less than extending his 
dominion over the whole of Greece. Upon receiving 
the invitation of the Thebans, Jason immediately re- 
solved to join them. When he arrived the Thebans 
were anxious that he should unite with them in an 
attack upon the Lacedemonian camp ; but Jason 
dissuaded them from the enterprise, advising them 
not to drive the Lacedemonians to despair, and 
offering his mediation. He accordingly succeed- 
ed in effecting a truce, bv which the Lacedemo- 
nians were allowed to depart from Boeotia unmo- 
lested. 

The Humiliation of Sparta. —According to Spartan 
custom, the survivors of a defeat were looked upon 
as degraded men, and subjected to the penalties of 
civil infamy. No allowance was made for circum- 
stances. But those who had fled at Leuctra were 
three hundred in number ; an attempt to enforce 
against them the usual penalties might prove not 
only inconvenient, but even dangerous ; and, on the 
proposal of Agesilaus, they were for this occasion 
suspended. The loss of material power which Sparta 
sustained b} r the defeat was great. The ascendency 
she had hitherto enjoyed in parts north of the Corin- 
thian Gulf fell from her at once, and was divided be- 
tween Jason of Pherse and the Thebans. Jason w T as 
shortly afterwards assassinated. His death was felt 
as a relief by Greece, and especially by Thebes. He 
was succeeded by his tw r o brothers, Polyphron and 



B.C. 370 THE FOUNDING OF MEGALOPOLIS 267 

Polydorus ; but they possessed neither his ability nor 
his power. 

The Athenians stood aloof from the contending: 
parties. They had not received the news of the bat- 
tle of Leuctra with any pleasure, for they now dreaded 
Thebes more than Sparta. But, instead of helping 
the latter, they endeavored to prevent either from ob- 
taining the supremacy in Greece, and for this purpose 
called upon the other states to renew their oaths to 
abide by the Peace of Antalcidas, which provided 
for the independence of every Greek city. This pro- 
posal was accepted by all the states except Elis. 
Thus even the Peloponnesian cities became indepen- 
dent of Sparta. But this was not all. Never did any 
state fall with greater rapidity. She not only lost 
her dominion over states which she had ruled for cen- 
turies, but two new political powers sprang up in the 
peninsula which threatened her own independence. 

Affairs in Arcadia: the Founding of Megalopolis (about 
370 B.C.).— Hostilities first broke out between Sparta 
and the Arcadian towns of Man tinea and Tegea. The 
Mantineans, now independent by the terms of the 
renewed treaty, determined to rebuild their walls, 
which had been destroyed by the Lacedaemonians. In 
Tegea the anti-Spartan party sought to bring about 
the union of all Arcadia. They were supported by the 
Mantineans, and very many adherents of the opposite 
party fled to Sparta for refuge. Under these circum- 
stances Agesilaus led an army across the frontier and 
offered battle to the assembled Arcadians, but, find- 
ing them unwilling to engage, marched back to Spar- 
ta. The project which the Tegeans had originated 
was accomplished at about this time, or very shortly 
afterwards, by the founding of a new city, Megalopo- 



268 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVII 

lis. The " Great City " deserved its name. Situated 
on the banks of the Helisson, it was surrounded by a 
wall fifty stadia in circumference and peopled by the 
inhabitants of forty distinct Arcadian townships. It 
was made the capital of Arcadia, and here a synod of 
deputies from the Arcadian towns, called the "Ten 
Thousand," met for the transaction of business. By 
founding Megalopolis the Arcadians sought to estab- 
lish a bulwark against the power of Sparta. It was 
a long time since the Spartans had had an avowed 
enemy so near their city. 

Epaminondas invades Laconia and re-establishes the Mes- 
senian State (370 B.C.).— Meanwhile the Thebans under 
Epaminondas had marched to the assistance of the 
Arcadians. Being reinforced by them, Epaminon- 
das proceeded into Laconia, and threatened Sparta 
itself. The city, which was wholly unfortified, was 
filled with confusion and alarm. The women, who 
had never yet seen the face of an enemy, gave vent 
to their fears in wailing and lamentation. Agesilaus, 
however, was undismayed, and saved the state by his 
vigilance and energy. He repulsed the cavalry of 
Epaminondas as they advanced towards Sparta ; and 
so vigorous were his measures of defence that the 
Theban general abandoned all further attempt upon 
the city, and proceeded southwards as far as Helos 
and Gytheum, the latter the port and arsenal of 
Sparta. After laying waste with fire and sword the 
valley of the Eurotas, he retired to Messenia, there 
to work Sparta still greater harm. This was ac- 
complished by the re-establishment of the Messenian 
state. The Messenians had formerly lived under a 
dynasty of their own kings; but for nearly three 
centuries their land had been in the possession of the 



B.C. 370 THE FOUNDING OF MESSENE 269 

Lacedaemonians, and they had been fugitives upon 
the face of the earth. The restoration of these ex- 
iles, dispersed in various Greek states and colonies, 
to their former rights would plant a bitterly hostile 
neighbor on the very borders of Laconia. Epaminon- 
das accordingly opened communications with them, 
and great numbers of them joyfully accepted his in- 
vitation. He now founded the town of Messene. Its 
citadel was placed on Mount Ithoine, which had been 
so bravely defended by the Messenians against the 
Spartans more than three centuries before. The 
strength of its fortifications was long afterwards a 
subject of admiration. The territory attached to 
the new city extended southwards to the Messenian 
Gulf and northwards to the borders of Arcadia, com- 
prising some of the most fertile land in Pelopon- 
nesus. 

An Alliance between Sparta and Athens (369 B.C.). — 
So low had Sparta sunk that she was fain to beg 
the assistance of the Athenians. This request was 
acceded to ; and shortly afterwards an alliance was 
formed between the two states, in which Sparta 
waived all her claims to superiority and headship. 
In the same year the Thebans again invaded Pelo- 
ponnesus, defeated the Lacedaemonians in a slight 
skirmish, and made an unsuccessful attempt upon 
Corinth. But the Spartans and Athenians, who had 
taken the field together, were now reinforced by a 
body of troops sent to their aid by Dionysius of 
Syracuse. The Syracusan cavalry, though few in 
number, harassed the Thebans to such an extent that 
they soon marched homeward. 

The " Tearless Battle" (368 B.C.).— In the next year 
Peloponnesus was not invaded. The Arcadians 



270 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVII 

thought themselves strong enough to dispense with 
the aid of the Thebans, and continued to prosecute 
the war, supported only by the Argives. Mean- 
while a second Syracusan force reached Greece and 
joined the Spartans. Arch id am us, the son of Ages- 
ilaus, led the united army against the Argives and 
Arcadians, and won a brilliant victory near the La- 
conian frontier. This was called the "Tearless Bat- 
tle," because no single Spartan fell, though great 
numbers of the enem}^ were slain. During the same 
year a certain Philiscus, Avho was in the service of 
the Persians, invited the Thebans and Lacedaemonians 
to send deputies to a peace congress at Delphi. Both 
parties accepted the invitation, but nothing whatever 
was accomplished. 

The Thebans in Thessaly (369 B.C.)— Meanwhile Pelop- 
idas, with a Theban force, had been operating in 
Thessaly and Macedonia. Alexander of Phera?, a 
nephew of the great Jason, had murdered his uncle 
Polyphron and become Tagus of Thessaly. His rule 
was harsh and tyrannical, and the Thessalians sought 
the aid of Alexander II., king of Macedonia, against 
him. The Macedonian invaded Thessaly, but it was 
soon found that he had come to advance his own inter- 
ests and not to relieve the Thessalians. Thereupon the 
latter turned to Thebes. Pelopidas dispossessed the 
Macedonian kino; of the Thessalian cities which he 
had captured and freed the Thessalians from Alex- 
ander of Phera?, whom he left to rule his own city. 
Pelopidas then marched into Macedonia, where he 
supported king Alexander against Ptolemy, a claim- 
ant to the throne. Their differences were amicably 
adjusted, and Pelopidas returned to Thebes, taking 
with him as hostages a number of young nobles, 



B.C. 369-367 THE THEBANS IN THESSALY 271 

among whom was Philip, Alexander's brother and 
the future king of Macedonia. 

Pelopidas Imprisoned by Alexander of Pherae: his Release 
(367 B.C.).— In the year 368 B.C. renewed complaints 
against Alexander of Pherae reached Thebes, and 
Pelopidas returned to Thessaly, but this time without 
an army, trusting to his personal influence to settle 
all difficulties. Finding, however, that Ptolemy had 
murdered Alexander of Macedonia and seized the 
government, he collected a force of mercenaries and 
marched against the usurper. This undertaking was 
unsuccessful, and Pelopidas on. his return to Thessaly 
was seized and imprisoned by Alexander of Phera3. 
Expecting to be attacked by the Thebans in conse- 
quence of this deed, the tyrant sought aid of the 
Athenians, who sent him thirty triremes and troops 
to the number of 1000. The Thebans on their part 
despatched an army of 8000 hoplites and 600 cavalry 
to recover or avenge their favorite citizen. Unfort- 
unately, however, they were no longer commanded 
by Epaminondas. They were forced to retreat, and 
the army was in such danger from the active pursuit 
of the Thessalians and Athenians that its destruction 
seemed inevitable, Luckily, however, Epaminondas 
was serving as a hoplite in the ranks. By the unani- 
mous voice of the troops he was now called to the 
command, and succeeded in conducting the army 
safely back to Thebes. Here the unsuccessful Boeo- 
t arch s were disgraced; Epaminondas was restored to 
the command, and placed at the head of a second 
Theban army destined to attempt the release of Pelop- 
idas. Directed by his superior skill, the enterprise 
proved successful, and Pelopidas returned in safety 
to Thebes (367 B.C.). 



272 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVII 

A Theban Embassy to Persia.— Very soon after his re- 
turn from Thessaly, Pelopidas proceeded on an em- 
bassy to Persia. Ever since the Peace of Antalcidas 
the Great King had been the recognized mediator 
between the states of Greece, and his fiat seemed in- 
dispensable to stamp the claims of that city which 
pretended to the headship. The recent achievements 
of Thebes might entitle her to aspire to that position; 
and, at all events, the alteration which she had pro- 
duced in the internal state of Greece by the estab- 
lishment of Messene seemed to require for its stabil- 
ity the sanction of a Persian rescript. This was 
obtained without difficulty, as Thebes was now the 
strongest state in Greece, and it was evidently easier 
to exercise Persian ascendency there by her means 
than through a weaker power. The Persian rescript 
pronounced the independence of Messene, and the 
Athenians were directed to lay up their ships of war. 
It is needless to say that this royal manifesto pro- 
duced not the slightest effect in Greece. Sparta and 
Athens, whose ambassadors had been present at the 
Persian court with Pelopidas, had no intention of 
obeying the king's directions. The other states re- 
fused to be bound by the rescript, and braved the 
anger of the Thebans and Artaxerxes. 

The Death of Pelopidas (364 B.C.).— Three years later 
Pelopidas again marched into Thessaly against Alex- 
ander of Phene. The latter's aggressions had once 
more forced the Thessalians to seek aid at Thebes, 
and Pelopidas, who no doubt burned to avenge his 
private wrongs, was sent to punish the tyrant. The 
battle was fought on the hills of Cynoscephalae ; the 
troops of Alexander were routed ; and Pelopidas, ob- 
serving his hated enemy endeavoring to rally them, 



B.C. 364 BATTLE OF CYNOSCEPHAL.E 273 

was seized with such a transport of rage that, re- 
gardless of his duties as a general, he rushed impetu- 
ously forward and challenged him to single combat. 
Alexander shrunk back within the ranks of his guards, 
followed by Pelopidas, who was soon slain, fighting 
with desperate bravery. Although the army of Al- 
exander was defeated with severe loss, the news of 
the death of Pelopidas deprived the Thebans and 
their Thessalian allies of all the joy which they would 
otherwise have felt at their victory. 

The War in Peloponnesus: Elis and Arcadia.— Mean- 
while the war in Peloponnesus had continued. In the 
year 367 B.C. Epaminondas induced the Achaeans to 
ally themselves with Thebes, but on his return from 
Peloponnesus the Theban authorities foolishly sent 
out harmosts, who expelled the aristocrats from the 
various cities of Achaia. The exiles effected their 
return, and, through their instrumentality, Achaia 
now sided with Sparta. During the next year little 
of importance happened. The Athenians sought to 
injure Thebes by forming an alliance with the Arca- 
dians, while, on the other hand, Corinth and Phlius 
concluded peace with Thebes. In 365 B.C. war broke 
out between Arcadia and Elis. The Arcadians were, 
on the whole, successful, although the Eleans received 
aid from Sparta. In the year 364 B.C. they invaded 
Elis and assumed the direction of the Olympic games. 
But while the festival was in progress a force of 
Eleans marched to Olympia, and a battle took place 
among the temples and shrines of the sacred precinct. 
The Eleans, though at first successful, were not able 
to possess themselves of the sanctuary. The Arca- 
dians now went so far as to appropriate the sacred 
treasure to support their army. This sacrilegious act 

18 



274 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVII 

was not approved, however, by all the Arcadians, and 
internal dissension was thus produced. One party- 
sent to Thebes for assistance, while the majority, in- 
cluding the Mantineans, concluded peace with Elis, 
and sought the aid of Sparta ^against the Thebans. 

Epaminondas in Peloponnesus. —Under these circum- 
stances, Thebes determined to establish her suprem- 
acy in Peloponnesus, and to this end sent thither a 
strong army under Epaminondas, consisting of Boeo- 
tians, Euboeans, and Thessalians. The Theban general 
was joined in Peloponnesus by the Argives, Messe- 
nians, and southern Arcadians, and established him- 
self at Tegea, aiming to prevent the Spartans from 
effecting a junction with the Mantineans. Meanwhile 
Agesilaus with his army had marched out of Sparta, 
and Epaminondas, hoping to take the city by sur- 
prise, proceeded rapidly southward. But Agesilaus 
was forewarned, and reached Sparta before the The- 
bans. The latter did, indeed, enter the city, but with- 
drew without offering battle to its defenders. Epam- 
inondas now retired to Arcadia, and a decisive battle 
was at length fought near Mantinea (362 B.C.). Al- 
most all the states of Greece were represented in this 
struggle. The various contingents which made up 
the army of Epaminondas have been already enu- 
merated ; on the opposite side fought the Spartans, 
Athenians, Eleans, Achaeans, and northern Arcadians. 
The advantage of numbers was on the side of Epam- 
inondas. 

The Battle of Mantinea : Death of Epaminondas (362 B.C.). 
— The Theban general adopted the same plan of battle 
which had proved so successful at Leuctra. His best 
troops, the Boeotians, he again stationed on the left 
wing, forming them into a column of extraordinary 



B.C. 362 THE BATTLE OF MANTINEA 275 

depth. In the onset which followed they bore down 
all before them. The Lacedaemonians and Mantineans, 
who formed the right wing of the opposing army, 
turned and fled, and the rest followed their example. 
The day was won ; but Epaminondas, who fought in 
the foremost ranks, fell pierced with a mortal wound. 
His fall occasioned such consternation among his 
troops that, although the enemy were in full flight, 
they did not know how to use their advantage and 
remained rooted to the spot. Epaminondas was car- 
ried off the field with the spear-head still fixed in his 
breast. Having satisfied himself that his shield was 
safe, and that the victory was gained, he inquired for 
Iolaidas and Daiphantus, whom he intended to suc- 
ceed him in the command. Being informed that 
both were slain, he said, " Then you must make 
peace." After that he ordered the spear-head to be 
withdrawn, when the gush of blood w T hich followed 
soon terminated his life. Thus died this truly great 
man; and never w r as there one whose title to that 
epithet has been less disputed. Antiquity is unani- 
mous in his praise, and some of the first men of Greece 
subsequently took him for their model. With him 
the commanding influence of Thebes began and ended. 
His last advice was adopted, and peace was concluded 
probably before the Theban army quitted Pelopon- 
nesus. Its basis was an agreement to leave every- 
thing as it was, to acknowledge the Arcadian con- 
stitution and the independence of Messene. Sparta 
alone refused to join it on account of the last article, 
but she was not supported by her allies. 

The Death of Agesilaus (358 B.C.). — Agesilaus had 
lived to see the empire of Sparta extinguished by her 
hated rival. Thus curiously had the prophecy been 



276 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVII 

fulfilled which warned Sparta of the evils awaiting 
her under " a lame reign." But Agesilaus had not }^et 
abandoned all hope, and he now directed his views 
towards the east as the quarter from which Spartan 
power might still be resuscitated. At the age of 
eighty-one the indomitable old man proceeded with 
a force of 1000 hoplites to assist Tachos, king of 
Egypt, in his revolt against Persia. He died on 
shipboard while returning to Greece. His body was 
embalmed in wax, and splendidly buried in Sparta. 




COIN OF THEBES 



CHAPTER XVIII 

HISTORY OF THE SICILIAN GREEKS FROM THE AC- 
CESSION OF DIONYSIUS TO THE DEATH OF T1MO- 
LEON. 

Dlonysius the Elder, Tyrant of Syracuse (405-367 B.C.). 

— The affairs of the Sicilian Greeks, an important 
branch of the Hellenic race, deserve a passing notice. 
A few years after the destruction of the Athenian 
armament, Dionysius made himself master of Syra- 
cuse, and openly seized upon the supreme power 
(405 B.C.). His reign as tyrant was long and pros- 
perous. He was successful in repeated struggles 
against the Carthaginians, and extended his domin- 
ion over the greater part of Sicily as well as a con- 
siderable portion of Magna Graecia. He raised Syr- 
acuse to be one of the chief Grecian states, second in 
influence, if indeed second, to Sparta alone. Under 
his sway Syracuse was strengthened and embellished 
with new fortifications, docks, and public buildings, 
and became superior even to Athens in extent and 
population. 

Dionysius was a warm friend of literature, and was 
anxious to gain distinction by his literary composi- 
tions. In the midst of his political and military cares 
he devoted himself assiduously to poetry, and not 
only caused his poems to be publicly recited at the 
Olympic games, but contended successfully for the 



278 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVIII 

prize of tragedy at Athens. In accordance with the 
same spirit, we find him seeking the society of men 
distinguished in literature and philosophy. Prom- 
inent among these was Plato, who visited Sicily about 
the year 388 B.C. The philosopher found an ardent 
disciple in Dion, the tyrant's brother-in-law, but his 
teachings failed to influence Dionysius. 

Dionysius the Younger and Dion: the Syracusans appeal 
to Corinth (344 B.C.).— Dionysius died in 367 B.C., and 
was succeeded by his eldest son, commonly called 
Dionysius the Younger, who was twenty-eight years 
of age at the time of his father's death. At first he 
listened to the counsels of Dion, who had always en- 
joyed the respect and confidence of his father. At 
thcadvice of Dion he invited Plato to Syracuse, where 
the philosopher was received with the greatest honor. 
His illustrious pupil immediately began to take les- 
sons in geometry ; superfluous dishes disappeared 
from the royal table ; and Dionysius even betrayed 
some symptoms of a wish to mitigate the former 
rigors of the despotism. But now the old courtiers 
took the alarm. It was whispered to Dionysius that 
the whole was a deep-laid scheme on the part of Dion 
for the purpose of effecting a revolution and placing 
his own nephews on the throne.* These accusations 
had the desired effect on the mind of Dionysius, who 
shortly afterwards expelled Dion from Sicily and 
dismissed Plato. The philosopher made a third visit 
to Syracuse in the year 361 B.C., but was unable to rec- 

*The elder Dionysius had been twice married. One of his 
wives was a Locrian woman named^Doris; the other, Aristom- 
ache, was a Syracusan, and the sister of Dion. The younger 
Dionysius was his eldest son by Doris; but he also had chil- 
dren by Aristomache. 



B.C. 367-344 DIONYSIUS THE YOUNGER AND DION 279 

oncile Dionysius with Dion or to transform the tyrant 
into a philosopher. After Plato's final departure 
Dionysius gave way to his vices without restraint, 
and became an object of contempt to the Syracu- 
sans. Dion saw that the time had come for aveng- 
ing his own wrongs as well as those of his country. 
Collecting a small force, he sailed to Sicily, and 
suddenly appeared before the gates of Syracuse dur- 
ing the absence of Dionysius on an expedition to the 
coasts of Italy. The inhabitants, filled with joy, wel- 
comed Dion as their deliverer; and Dionysius on his 
return from Italy was defeated in battle and com- 
pelled to flee from Syracuse (356 B.C.), leaving Dion 
master of the city. The latter was now in a condi- 
tion to carry out all those exalted notions of political 
life which he had sought to instil into the mind of 
Dionysius. He seems to have contemplated some po- 
litical changes ; but his immediate and practical acts 
were tyrannical, and w r ere rendered still more unpop- 
ular by his overbearing manners. His unpopularity 
continued to increase, till at length one of his bosom 
friends — the Athenian Callippus — seized the oppor- 
tunity to mount to power by his murder, and caused 
him to be assassinated in his own house. This event 
took place in 354 B.C., only two years after the flight 
of Dionysius from Syracuse. Callippus contrived 
to retain the sovereign power for only a short time. 
A period of anarchy followed, during which Dio- 
nysius again made himself master of the city (346 
B.C.). He was not able, however, to re-establish him- 
self firmly in his former power. Most of the other 
cities of Sicily had shaken off the yoke of Syracuse, 
and were governed by petty despots. Meantime 
the Carthaginians prepared to take advantage of the 



280 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVIII 

distracted condition of Sicily. In the extremity of 
their sufferings, several of the Syracusan exiles ap- 
pealed for aid to Corinth, their mother -city. The 
application was granted, and Timoleon was appointed 
to command an expedition destined for the relief of 
Syracuse (344 B.C.). 

Timoleon.— Timoleon was distinguished for gentle- 
ness as well as for courage, but towards traitors and 
despots his hatred was intense. He had once saved the 
life of his elder brother Timophanes in battle at the 
imminent peril of his own; but when Timophanes, 
availing himself of his situation as commander of the 
garrison in the citadel of Corinth, endeavored to en- 
slave his country, Timoleon did not hesitate to con- 
sent to his death. Twice Timoleon pleaded with his 
brother, beseeching him not to destroy the liberties of 
his country; but when Timophanes turned a deaf ear 
to these appeals, Timoleon connived at the action of 
his friends, who put him to death, while he himself, 
bathed in a flood of tears, stood a little way aloof. 
The great body of the citizens regarded the conduct 
of Timoleon with love and admiration. In the mind 
of Timoleon, however, their approving verdict was 
far more than outweighed by the reproaches and ex- 
ecrations of his mother. For many years nothing 
could prevail upon him to return to public life. He 
buried himself in the country far from the haunts of 
men, till a chance voice in the Corinthian assembly 
nominated him as the leader of the expedition against 
Dionysius. 

Timoleon arrives at Syracuse: his Career.— Roused by 
the nature of the cause and the exhortations of his 
friends, Timoleon accepted the post thus offered to 
him. His success exceeded his hopes. As soon as he 



B.C. 343-336 TIMOLEON AT SYRACUSE 281 

appeared before Syracuse, Dionysius, who appears to 
have abandoned all hope of ultimate success, surren- 
dered the citadel into his hands on condition of be- 
ing allowed to depart in safety to Corinth (343 B.C.). 
Dionysius passed the remainder of his life in that 
city, where he became as noted a character as Diog- 
enes, the Cynic. He drank and squabbled with the 
poorest classes of citizens, while, on the other hand, 
he showed his literary inclinations by giving instruc- 
tion in singing and declaiming. 

Timoleon also expelled the other tyrants from the 
Sicilian cities, and gained a great victory over the Car- 
thaginians at the river Crimisus. He restored a re- 
publican constitution to Syracuse ; and his first public 
act was to destroy the impregnable fortifications of 
the citadel of Ortygia, the stronghold of the elder 
and the younger Dionysius. All the rewards which 
Timoleon received for his great services were a house 
in Syracuse and some landed property in the neigh- 
borhood of the city. He now sent for his family 
from Corinth, and became a Syracusan citizen. He 
continued, however, to retain, though in a private 
station, the greatest influence in the state. During 
the latter part of his life, though he was totally de- 
prived of sight, yet when important affairs were dis- 
cussed in the assembly it was customary to send for 
Timoleon, who was drawn in a car into the middle of 
the theatre amidst the shouts and affectionate greet- 
ings of the assembled citizens. When the tumult of 
his reception had subsided, he was informed of the 
subject under consideration. The opinion which he 
pronounced was usually ratified by the vote of the 
assembly; and he then left the theatre amidst the 
same cheers which had greeted his arrival. In this 



282 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XVIII 

happy and honored condition he breathed his last 
in 336 B.C., a few years after the battle of Crimisus. 
He was splendidly interred at the public cost, while 
the whole Syracusan population followed him to the 
grave. 




COIN OF SYRACUSE 



CHAPTER XIX 

PHILIP OF MACEDOX, 359-336 B.C. 

Early History of Macedonia.— The internal dissensions 
of Greece produced their natural fruits, and we shall 
have now to relate the downfall of her independence 
and her subjugation by a foreign power. This power 
was Macedonia, an obscure state to the north of 
Thessaly, hitherto overlooked and despised, and con- 
sidered as altogether barbarous and without the pale 
of Grecian civilization. But though the Macedonians 
were not Greeks, in the stricter sense of that word, 
their sovereigns claimed to be descended from an 
Hellenic race — namely, that of Temenus of Argos; and 
it is said that Alexander I. proved his Argive descent 
previously to contending at the Olympic games. Per- 
diccas was regarded by Herodotus as the founder of 
the monarchy; of the history of which, however, lit- 
tle is known till the reign of Amyntas I., his fifth suc- 
cessor, who was contemporary with the Pisistratidae 
at Athens. Alexander I., the son and successor of 
Amyntas, was compelled to join Xerxes in his ex- 
pedition against Greece, though his sympathies were 
really with the other side. His successor, Perdiccas II., 
who ruled during the early part of the Peloponnesian 
war, was an unscrupulous diplomat, and at one time a 
source of considerable trouble and loss to Athens. 
He died in 413 B.C., and was followed by Archelaus. 



284 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIX 

This monarch transferred his residence from iE^re 
to Pella, which thus became the capital. He enter- 
tained many literary men at his court, among them 
Euripides, who ended his days in Macedonia. Arche- 
laus was assassinated in 399 B.C., and after a consid- 
erable period of anarchy the crown devolved upon 
Amyntas II., a representative of the ancient line. 
Amyntas left three sons, the youngest being the cel- 
ebrated Philip, of whom we have now to speak. 

The Accession of Philip (359 B.C.): his First Achieve- 
ments.— It has been already mentioned that the youth- 
ful Philip was one of the hostages delivered to the 
Thebans as security for the peace effected by Pelopi- 
das. His residence at Thebes gave him some tincture 
of Grecian philosophy and literature ; but the most 
important lesson which he learned at that city was the 
art of war, with all the improved tactics introduced by 
Epaminondas. Philip succeeded to the throne at the 
age of twenty-three (359 B.C.), and displayed at the 
beginning of his reign his extraordinary energy^ and 
abilities. Macedonia was threatened at the same time 
by the armies of three neighboring tribes — the Illyr- 
ians, Preonians, and Thracians. Philip's right to the 
throne was disputed by two rival claimants : the one, 
Argaeus, supported by the Athenians ; the other by 
the Thracians. Philip bribed the Thracians and Pae- 
onians to retire from his country, defeated an Athe- 
nian force which Argreus had enlisted in his cause, and, 
by sending his prisoners back to Athens, was able to 
conclude a peace with that city (358 B.C.). He then 
reduced the Paeonians to subjection and inflicted a 
crushing defeat upon the Illyrians. Being thus freed 
from immediate danger, he was able to pursue the 
projects to which a boundless ambition prompted him. 



B.C. 357 CAPTURE OF AMPHIPOLIS AND PYDXA 285 

Philip's Abilities and Aspirations.— Philip was a born 
general, and it was he who completed the revolution 
in military tactics which Epaminondas had begun. 
He introduced the far-famed Macedonian phalanx, and 
developed the body-guard which many Greek tyrants 
had possessed into a standing force. Philip was, 
moreover, a gifted and eloquent orator, and a master 
of diplomacy. The Athenians soon had reason to 
recognize both his military and diplomatic talents; 
for many cities on the Macedonian coast still owed 
allegiance to Athens, and Philip resolved to include 
them in his empire. He also aimed to reduce to sub- 
jection the numerous towns of the Chaleidian penin- 
sula, w r hich constituted the Olynthian confederacy ; 
and, finally, the important city of Amphipolis, once 
the jewel of the Athenian empire, which had been 
captured by Brasidas in the eighth year of the Pelo- 
ponnesian war and never recovered by the Athenians, 
in spite of repeated efforts. Its situation near the 
mouth of the Strymon rendered it especially valuable 
to Macedonia, not only as a commercial port, but as 
opening a passage into Thrace. 

The Capture of Amphipolis and Pydrta (357 B.C.).— Philip 
first marched against Amphipolis. The Amphipoli- 
tans in alarm besought aid from the Athenians. At 
about the same time the Olynthians sent ambassadors 
to Athens to conclude an alliance against Philip as a 
common enemy. An alliance between two such power- 
ful states as Olynthus and Athens might have proved 
an insurmountable obstacle to Philip's views, and it 
was therefore absolutely necessary to prevent this coa- 
lition. Here we have the first instance of Philip's skill 
and duplicity in negotiation. By secretly promising 
the Athenians that he would put Amphipolis into their 



286 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIX 

hands if they would give him possession of Pydna, he 
induced them to reject the overtures of the Amphipol- 
itans and Olynthians. Amphipolis, being thus left 
unaided, soon fell into his hands (35 7 B.C.). And 
now, instead of waiting for the Athenians to give him 
Pydna, he proceeded forthwith to capture that city 
also. It is needless to say that he had no intention 
of restoring Amphipolis to Athens. 

Philip gives Anthemus and Potidaea to the Olynthians 
(356 B.C.)-— Philip had now just reason to dread the 
enmity of the Athenians, and accordingly it was his 
policy to court the favor of the Olynthians, and to 
prevent them from renewing their negotiations with 
Athens. In order to separate the two states more 
effectually, he put the Olynthians in possession of An- 
themus and the important city of Potidaea, an Athe- 
nian possession, which yielded to him only after a long 
siege. Plutarch relates that the capture of Potidaea 
was accompanied by three other fortunate events in 
the life of Philip, namely, the prize gained by his 
race-horse at the Olympic games, a victory of his 
o-eneral Parmenio over the Illvrians, and the birth of 
his son Alexander. 

The Founding of Philippi. — Philip now crossed the 
S try mon, on the left bank of which lay the rich srold 
mines of Mount Pangreus. He conquered the dis- 
trict, and founded there a new town called Philippi, 
on the site of the ancient town of Crenides. From 
the mines of Pangoeus, Philip now derived an annual 
revenue of 1000 talents, or rather more than a million 
dollars. 

The Social War (357-355 B.C.): Philip's Continued Ac- 
tivity.— Meanwhile Athens was engaged in a war with 
her allies, which has been called the Social War, and 



B.C. 355 THE SACRED WAR 287 

which so taxed her energies that she was obliged to 
look quietly on while Philip was aggrandizing him- 
self at her expense. This war broke out in 357 B.C. 
with the revolt of Chios, Cos, Rhodes, and Byzantium. 
The chief causes of it seem to have been the contribu- 
tions levied upon the allies by the Athenian generals. 
The war lasted two years ; the Athenians made in- 
effectual efforts to win back the revolted states, but 
were finally compelled to acknowledge their inde- 
pendence (355 B.C.). 

During the years 355 and 354 B.C. Philip was en- 
gaged in successful warfare with his barbarian neigh- 
bors, and the Athenians enjoyed a short respite. But 
in 353 B.C. he attacked Methone, the last town on the 
Macedonian coast which still belonged to Athens. 
The Athenian expedition which was sent to its relief 
arrived too late — Methone had already fallen. 

The Sacred War: Philip defeats the Phocians in Thessaly 
(352 B.C.). — Meanwhile an intestine war had been 
raging in Greece, which did much to exhaust the 
Grecian states, and thus pave the way for Philip's 
progress to the supremacy. This was the Sacred 
War, which broke out between Thebes and Phocis 
in the year 355 B.C. An ill-feeling had long existed 
between those two countries. The Thebans now 
availed themselves of the influence which they pos- 
sessed in the Amphictyonic Council to take vengeance 
upon the Phocians. They induced the Council to 
impose a heavy fine upon the Phocians, because they 
had cultivated a portion of the Cirrhrean plain, 
which was sacred to the Delphian god. When the 
Phocians failed to pay the fine, the Amphictyons 
resolved to lay waste and consecrate to Apollo the 
lands of those who had dishonored the deity. Thus 



288 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIX 

driven to desperation, the Phocians resolved to com- 
plete the sacrilege with which they had been branded 
by seizing the very temple of Delphi itself. The 
leader and counsellor of this enterprise was Philome- 
lus, who, with a force of Phocians and mercenaries, 
surprised and took Delphi. At first, however, he 
carefully abstained from touching the sacred treas- 
ure ; but, being hard pressed by the Thebans and 
their allies, prominent among whom were the Thes- 
salians, he threw off* the scruples which he had hither- 
to assumed, and announced that the sacred treasures 
should be converted into a fund for the payment of 
mercenaries. On the death of Philomelus the com- 
mand was assumed by Onomarchus, who carried on 
the war with vigor and success. But he was checked 
in his career by Philip. The Macedonian king had 
been called into Thessaly by the Aleuadse of Larisa 
to aid them against the tyrants of Pheraa. The latter 
were supported by Onomarchus, who was successful 
against Philip in two battles (353 B.C.), but in the end 
met with a crushing defeat at his hands (352 B.C.). 
Philip thus became master of Thessaly. He now di- 
rected his march southward with the view of subdu- 
ing the Phocians ; but, upon reaching Thermopylae, 
he found the pass guarded by a strong Athenian 
force, and was compelled, or considered it more pru- 
dent, to retreat. 

Demosthenes, the Orator.— After his return from Thes- 
saly, Philip's views were directed towards Thrace and 
the Chersonese. It was at this juncture that Demos- 
thenes stepped forward as the proclaimed opponent 
of Philip, and delivered the first of those celebrated 
orations which from their subject have been called 
"the Philippics." This most famous of all the Gre- 



B.C. 383-351 



DEMOSTHENES 



289 



cian orators was probably born in 3S3 b.c. Having 
lost his father at the early age of seven, he was 
defrauded by his guardians of the greater part of 
his paternal inheritance. This misfortune, however, 
proved one of the causes which tended to make him 
an orator. Demosthenes resolved to make his guar- 
dians answerable for their conduct, and, on attaining 
his majority, brought them to trial on the charge of 
embezzlement and pleaded his own case against them. 
Plutarch relates that his first attempt to speak before 
the Assembly proved a failure, and he retired from the 
bema amidst the hooting and laughter of the citizens. 
The more judicious and candid among his auditors 




THE BEMA OF THE PNYX AT ATHENS 



perceived, however, marks of genius in his speech, 
and rightly attributed his failure to timidity and im- 
perfect enunciation. Eunomus, an aged citizen, who 
met him wandering about Piraeus in a state of dejec- 
tion at his ill-success, bade him take courage and per- 
severe. Demosthenes shortly afterwards withdrew 
awhile from public life, and devoted himself perse- 
veringly to remedy his defects. They were such as 
might be lessened, if not removed, by practice, and 
consisted chiefly of a weak voice, imperfect articula- 
tion, and ungraceful action. He derived assistance 

19 



290 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIX 

from Satyrus the actor, who exercised him in reciting 
passages from Sophocles and Euripides. He studied 
carefully the best models, and is said to have copied 
the work of Thucydides with his own hand no fewer 
than eight times. He shut himself up for periods of 
two or three months together in a subterranean cham- 
ber in order to practise composition and declamation. 
His perseverance was crowned with success ; and he 
who on the first attempt had descended from the 
bema amidst the ridicule of the crowd became at last 
one of the greatest orators the world has ever seen. 

The Fall of Olynthus (348 B.C.).— Demosthenes had es- 
tablished himself as a public speaker before the 
period which we have now reached ; but it is chiefly 
in connection with Philip that we are to view him as 
a statesman as well as an orator. Philip had shown 
his ambition by his operations in the north and by 
the conquest of Thessaly ; and Demosthenes now be- 
gan to regard him as the enemy of the liberties of 
Athens and of Greece. In his first Philippic De- 
mosthenes tried to rouse his countrymen to energetic 
measures against this formidable enemy ; but his 
warnings and exhortations produced little effect, for 
the Athenians were no longer distinguished by the 
same spirit of enterprise which had characterized 
them in the days of their supremacy. No important 
step was taken to curb the growing power of Philip ; 
and it was the danger of Olynthus which first in- 
duced the Athenians to prosecute the war with a 
little more energy. In the year 352 B.C. Olynthus 
had concluded peace with Athens, an act so displeas- 
ing to Philip that on his return from Thrace he in- 
vaded the Chalcidian peninsula. He did not, how- 
ever, openly attack any city of the Olynthian league, 



B.C. 348 THE FALL OF OLYNTHUS 291 

but marched back through Macedonia to undertake 
further conquests in Illyria and Epirus. In 349 b.c. 
he again appeared in the peninsula and laid siege to 
some of the smaller towns. Olynthus began to trem- 
ble for her own safety, and sent envoys to Athens to 
beg assistance. Olynthus was still at the head of 
thirty-two Greek towns, and the confederacy was a 
sort of counterpoise to the power of Philip. It was 
on this occasion that Demosthenes delivered his three 
Olynthiac orations, in which he warmly advocated an 
alliance with Olynthus and urged the Athenians to 
take the field against Philip. 

Demosthenes was opposed by a strong party, with 
which Phocion commonly acted. Phocion is one of 
the most singular and original characters in Grecian 
history. He viewed the multitude and their doings 
with a scorn which he was at no pains to disguise, 
receiving their anger with indifference and their 
praises with contempt. His known probity, however, 
gave him weight with the Assembly. Demosthenes, 
who stood in awe of no other statesman, was accus- 
tomed to say, when Phocion rose, "Here comes the 
pruner of my periods." But Phocion's desponding 
views and his distrust of the Athenian people made 
him a poor statesman at a period which demanded 
the most active patriotism. He doubtless injured his 
country by uniting with those who opposed, in many 
cases from the meanest motives, the patriotic policy 
of Demosthenes. This division of opinion rendered 
the operations of the Athenians in almost all cases 
languid and desultory. Demosthenes did succeed, 
however, by his Olynthiac orations, in arousing the 
Athenians to an unwonted degree of activit}^ Three 
successive expeditions were sent out to the relief of 



292 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIX 

the threatened city, but all in vain. Town after 
town of the confederacy fell before Philip, and in 
348 B.C. Olynthus itself was taken. The w T hole of 
the Chalcidian peninsula thus became incorporated 
in the Macedonian empire. 

Peace between Philip and the Athenians (346 B.C.).— The 
destruction of so many Greek cities created a pro- 
found impression throughout Greece, and especially 
in Athens ; for many Athenians who had been serv- 
ing against Philip were now his prisoners of war. 
Moreover, the ineffectual efforts which Athens had 
put forth to check the growing power of Philip had 
been a severe drain upon the state, and the Athenians 
were eager to conclude peace on almost any terms. 
Philip, on the other hand, was not yet prepared to 
undertake the subjugation of Greece ; a treaty of 
peace would give him time to gather strength for the 
final attempt. The Athenians had learned before the 
fall of Olynthus that Philip was ready to agree to a 
cessation of hostilities ; and in the year 346 B.C. ten 
ambassadors, among whom were Demosthenes, iEschi- 
nes, and Philocrates, were sent from Athens to Mace- 
donia to open negotiations. Their proposals were 
received with favor, and a Macedonian embassy soon 
afterwards visited Athens, empowered to arrange the 
terms of a treaty. Peace was accordingly concluded 
with the condition that each party should retain its 
present possessions. The allies of both Philip and 
the Athenians were included in the treaty, but with 
the important exception, on the Athenian side, of the 
Phocians. The proposed exclusion of the Phocians 
was stoutly opposed by Demosthenes, but the Mace- 
donians refused to yield. A second Athenian embassy 
was now sent to Philip to obtain his formal ratifica- 



B.C. 346 RESULTS OF THE SACRED WAR 293 

tion of the treaty. The envoys were compelled to 
wait in Pella for some time until Philip returned 
from Thrace ; then they accompanied him into Thes- 
saly, where he finally ratified the treaty by his oath. 

The Conclusion of the Sacred War: its Results.— By the 
terms of this compact, which is known as the Peace 
of Philocrates, the Phocians were left to their fate. 
They had been strong enough to continue the Sacred 
War against the Thebans and Locrians ; but Philip 
was now determined to bring it to an end. He im- 
mediately marched to Thermopylae, where the Phocian 
army of 8000 men capitulated on learning that they 
had been deserted by Athens. Philip now entered 
Phocis and occupied Delphi, where he assembled the 
Amphictyons to pronounce sentence upon those who 
had been concerned in the sacrilege committed there. 
The Council decreed that all the cities of Phocis, ex- 
cept Abae, should be destroyed and their inhabitants 
scattered into villages. Sparta was deprived of her 
share in the Amphictyonic privileges ; the two votes 
in the Council possessed by the Phocians were trans- 
ferred to the kings of Macedonia ; and Philip was to 
share with the Boeotians and Thessalians the honor of 
presiding at the Pythian games (346 B.C.). 

The result of the Sacred War rendered Macedonia 
the leading state in Greece. Philip at once acquired 
by it military glory, a reputation for piety, and an ac- 
cession of power. His ambitious designs were now 
too plain to be mistaken. The eyes of the blindest 
among the Athenians were at last opened ; the pro- 
moters of the peace which had been concluded with 
Philip incurred the hatred and suspicion of the peo- 
ple, while, on the other hand, Demosthenes rose higher 
than ever in public favor. 



294 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIX 

Philip's Intrigues in Peloponnesus. — It was always Phil- 
ip's policy, after he had gained any decided advantage 
in his dealings with the Greeks, to turn his attention 
to his barbarian neighbors and wait for a time before 
striking another blow against Greece. So now, after 
returning from Phocis, he made an expedition against 
the Illyrians and Dardanians. A little later he began 
to make his influence felt in Peloponnesus, where 
the Argives, Messenians, and Megalopolitans were, as 
usual, on bad terms with Sparta. He ordered the Spar- 
tans to recognize the independence of Messene, and 
when they refused to do so he sent mercenaries to 
Messene and Argos, whom he promised to follow in 
person with a large army. Other Peloponnesian states 
besides Messene and Argos were friendly to Philip ; 
in both Arcadia and Elis a Macedonian party gained 
the upper hand. The larger part of Eubcea also 
passed under Philip's control. Meanwhile, that mon- 
arch himself was operating in Epirus. Fears were 
entertained at Athens that he would march south- 
ward and cross over to Peloponnesus ; but an Athe- 
nian embassy which was sent to Peloponnesus aroused 
so determined a spirit of resistance that Philip 
deemed it wise to forego any attempt in that quarter. 

The Athenians organize a League against Philip (340 B.C.) 
and save Byzantium. — Philip now marched into Thrace 
and completed the subjugation of that country (342- 
341 b.c). His further advance soon threatened the 
Chersonesus and the Athenian possessions in that 
neighborhood ; in fact, Athenian troops under Dio- 
pithes came into actual collision with the Macedo- 
nians. Demosthenes was now successful in inciting 
the Athenians to active measures. He himself effect- 
ed a reconciliation between Athens and her revolted 



B.C. 339 PHILIP SEIZES ELATEA 295 

ally Byzantium ; successive Athenian expeditions won 
back the island of Eubcea ; and in 340 B.C., by the 
efforts of Demosthenes and Callias of C hale is, a league 
was formed which included Athens, Eubcea, Megara, 
Corinth, Achaia, Acarnania, Leucas, and Contra. 
Philip meanwhile laid siege to Perinthus, a city on 
the Propontis ; but the Perinthians received such 
effective support from their ally Ityzantium that 
Philip determined to raise the siege and attack Ety- 
zantium itself. This amounted to a declaration of 
war upon Athens, for Byzantium was now an Athe- 
nian dependence. Athens answered the challenge by 
formally renouncing the Peace of Philocrates and de- 
claring war upon Philip. Still better, the Athenians 
sent out two successive expeditions to the relief of 
Byzantium. The allies of Athens also did their part, 
with the result that Byzantium was saved and Philip 
retired to Macedonia. 

Philip seizes Elatea. — Baffled in the East, Philip soon 
found an opportunity of marching again into the very 
heart of Greece. Amphissa, a Locrian town, having 
been declared by the Amphictyonic Council guilty of 
sacrilege, Philip was appointed by the Council as their 
general to inflict punishment on the inhabitants of the 
guilty town. Accordingly, he marched south ward tow- 
ards the close of 339 b.c. ; but instead of proceeding in 
the direction of Amphissa, he suddenly seized Elatea, 
an important town in the northeastern part of Phocis, 
thus showing clearly enough that his real design was 
against Bceotia and Attica. Intelligence of this event 
reached Athens in the evening and caused extraordi- 
nary alarm. On the following morning Demosthenes 
pressed upon the Assembly the necessity for making 
the most vigorous preparations for defence, and es- 



296 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIX 

pecially recommended them to send an embassy to 
Thebes, in order to persuade the Thebans to unite 
with them against the common enemy. 

The Battle of Chaeronea (338 B.C.).— The proposals of 
Demosthenes were approved by the Assembly, and 
he himself was put at the head of an embassy to 
Thebes. His eloquence won the day with the The- 
bans, in spite of the demands and threats of the 
Macedonian envoys who had been sent to that city. 
Thebes resolved to join the confederate states against 
Philip. A strong army was collected which met the 
Macedonians in a decisive struggle on the plain of 
Chaeronea in Boeotia (August, 338 b.c). In the 
Macedonian army was Philip's son, the youthful 
Alexander, who was intrusted with the command of 
one of the wings ; and it was the charge made by 
him on the Theban Sacred Band that decided the 
fortune of the day. The Sacred Band was cut to 
pieces without flinching from the ground which it 
occupied, and the remainder of the combined army 
was completely routed. Demosthenes, who was serv- 
ing as a foot-soldier in the Athenian ranks, has been 
absurdly reproached with cowardice because he par- 
ticipated in the general flight. 

The battle of Chaeronea crushed the liberties of 
Greece, and made it, in reality, a province of the 
Macedonian monarchy. To Athens herself the blow 
was almost as fatal as that of iEgospotami. But the 
manner in which Philip used his victory excited uni- 
versal surprise. He dismissed the Athenian prison- 
ers without ransom, and voluntarily offered a peace 
on terms more advantageous than the Athenians them- 
selves would have ventured to propose. Philip, in- 
deed, seems to have regarded Athens with a sort of 



B.C. 336 THE ASSASSINATION OF PHILTP 297 

love and respect, as the centre of art and refinement, 
for bis treatment of the Thebans was very different 
and marked by great harshness and severity. They 
were compelled to recall their exiles, in whose hands 
the government w r as placed, while a Macedonian gar- 
rison was established in the Cadmea, and Thebes 
ceased to be mistress of Boeotia. 

A congress of the Grecian states w r as now sum- 
moned at Corinth, in which war w T as declared against 
Persia, and Philip was appointed generalissimo of the 
expedition. Thus was revived the great project 
which Agesilaus had been forced to abandon. Again 

cd CD 

the Persian empire was to be invaded by Greeks, and 
the Persians were to be punished for all the wrongs 
which Greece had suffered at their hands. 

The Assassination of Philip (336 B.C.) : his Achievements. 
— In the spring of 336 B.C. Philip sent troops into 
Asia, under the command of Attalus and Parmenio, 
which were designed to liberate the Greek cities of 
Asia. But, before quitting Macedonia, Philip deter- 
mined to provide for the safety of his dominions by 
celebrating the marriage of his daughter with Alex- 

CD CD CD 

ander of Epirus. It was solemnized at ^Egre, the 
ancient capital of Macedonia, with much pomp and 
ceremony. The day after the nuptials was dedicated 
to theatrical entertainments. The festival was opened 
with a procession of the images of the twelve Olym- 
pian deities, with which was associated that of Philip 
himself. When the crowd had gathered in the thea- 
tre, Philip himself entered, dressed in white robes and 
followed at some distance by his attendants. At this 
moment a youth suddenly rushed out of the crowd, 
and, drawing a sword which he had concealed under 
his cloak, plunged it into Philip's side. The king fell 



298 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XIX 

dead upon the spot. The assassin was pursued by 
some of the royal guards, and, having stumbled in 
his flight, was despatched before he could reach the 
place where horses had been provided for his escape. 
His name was Pausanias. He was a youth of noble 
birth, and we are told that his motive for taking 
the king's life was the desire to avenge a private 
grievance. There can be little doubt, however, that 
the assassination of Philip was the ultimate result of 
political intrigues, which had their origin in the bitter 
enmity existing between the families and partisans of 
the two queens of Macedonia, Philip's rival wives. 

Thus fell Philip of Macedon, in the twenty-fourth 
year of his reign and forty-seventh of his age (336 
B.C.). When we reflect upon his achievements, and 
consider how, partly by policy and partly by arms, he 
converted his originally poor and distracted kingdom 
into the mistress of Greece, we must acknowledge him 
to have been a most extraordinary man. His views 
and his ambition were certainly as large as those of 
his son Alexander, but he was prevented by a prema- 
ture death from canning them out; nor would Alex- 
ander himself have been able to perform his great 
achievements had not Philip handed down to him 
all the means and instruments which they required. 



CHAPTER XX 

ALEXANDER THE GREAT, 336-323 B.C. 

The Youth and Education of Alexander.— Alexander was 

twenty years old at the time of his father's death, 
having been born in 356 b.c. According to Plu- 
tarch, his early education was intrusted to Leonid as, 
a kinsman of his mother and a man of severe and par- 
simonious character, who trained him with Spartan 
simplicity and hardihood ; while Lysimachus, an as- 
sistant or successor of Leonidas, early inspired the 
young prince with ambitious notions, by teaching him. 
to love and emulate the heroes of the Iliad. But the 
most striking feature in Alexander's education was 
that he had Aristotle for his teacher. Thus the 
greatest conqueror of the material world received 
the instruction of him who has exercised the most ex- 
tensive empire over the human intellect. It was prob- 
ably at about the age of thirteen that he first received 
the lessons of Aristotle, and they can hardly have con- 
tinued more than three years, for Alexander soon gave 
up his studies for the employments of active life. At 
the age of fifteen we find him regent of Macedonia 
during Philip's absence ; and at eighteen we have 
seen him filling a prominent military post at the 
battle of Chaeronea. 

Alexander prevents Threatened Uprisings in Greece.— On 
succeeding to the throne, not without opposition and 



300 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XX 

distrust, Alexander determined to prosecute his fa- 
ther's expedition into Asia; but it was first necessary 
for him to settle the affairs of Greece, where the news 
of Philip's assassination and the accession of so young 
a prince had excited in several states a hope of 
shaking off the Macedonian yoke. Athens was the 
centre of these movements. Demosthenes, although 
in mourning for the recent loss of an only daughter, 
now came abroad dressed in white and crowned with 
a chaplet. He also moved a decree that Philip's death 
should be celebrated by a public thanksgiving. At 
the same time he made vigorous preparations for 
action. At his instance envoys were despatched to 
the principal Grecian states for the purpose of incit- 
ing them against Macedonia. Sparta and almost all 
Peloponnesus seemed inclined to shake off their com- 
pulsory alliance. Even the Thebans were affected by 
the same spirit, although the Cadmea was in the hands 
of the Macedonians. 

The activity of Alexander disconcerted all these 
movements. Having marched through Thessaly, he 
assembled the Amphictyonic Council at Thermopylae, 
and was formally recognized by them as commander- 
in-chief of the Greeks. He then advanced rapidly 
upon Thebes, and thus prevented the meditated rev- 
olution. The Athenians sent ambassadors to depre- 
cate his wrath, who were graciously received. He 
then convened a general congress at Corinth, where 
he was appointed generalissimo for the Persian war 
in place of his father. Most of the philosophers and 
persons of note in Corinth came to congratulate him 
on this occasion ; but Diogenes of Sinope, who was 
then living in one of the suburbs of Corinth, did not 
make his appearance. Alexander, therefore, resolved 



B.C. 336 



ALEXANDER AND DIOGENES 



SOI 




to pay a visit to the eccentric Cynic, whom he found 
basking in the sun. On the approach of Alexander 
with a numerous retinue, Diogenes raised himself a 
little, and the monarch 
affably inquired how he 
could serve him. " By 
standing out of my sun- 
shine," replied the churl- 
ish philosopher. Alex- 
ander was struck with 
surprise at a behavior 
to which he was so little 
accustomed ; but, while 
his courtiers were ridi- 
culing the manners of 
the Cynic, he turned to 
them and said, "Were I 
not Alexander, I should 
like to be Diogenes." 

Alexander defeats the Triballians and the lllyrians.— The 
result of the congress might be considered a settlement 
of the affairs of Greece. On his return to Macedonia, 
Alexander resolved to imitate his father in making 
his power felt by the barbarians to the north and 
west before beginning his great expedition to Asia. 
He therefore crossed Mount Haemus and marched into 
the territory of the Triballians, defeated their forces, 
and penetrated to the Danube, which he crossed. 
Returning through the country of the Agrianians and 
Paeonians, he invaded Illyria, defeated the army of 
king Clitus, and compelled that monarch to fly for 
his life. 

The Capture and Destruction of Thebes (335 B.C.).— 
During Alexander's absence on these expeditions no 



DIOGENES IN HIS TUB 



302 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XX 

tidings were heard of him for a considerable time, and 
a report of his death was industriously spread abroad 
in southern Greece. The Thebans rose and besieged 
the Macedonian garrison in the Cadmea, at the same 
time inviting other states to support them in a strug- 
gle for freedom. Demosthenes was active in aiding 
the movement. On his motion the Athenians voted 
to assist the revolted city ; though instead of troops 
the Thebans received from Athens only munitions of 
war. But the rapidity of Alexander again crushed 
the insurrection in the bud. He pushed southward 
from Illy ria by forced marches, and before the Thebans 
discovered that he had passed Thermopylae he had al- 
ready arrived at Onchestus, in Boeotia. Alexander was 
willing to afford the Thebans an opportunity for repent- 
ance, and marched slowly to the foot of the Cadmea. 
But the leaders of the insurrection, believing them- 
selves irretrievably compromised, replied with taunts 
to Alexander's proposals for peace and excited the 
people to the most desperate resistance. An engage- 
ment was prematurely brought on by one of the gen- 
erals of Alexander, in which some of the Macedonian 
troops were put to rout ; but Alexander, coming up 
with the phalanx while the Thebans were in the 
disorder of pursuit, drove them back in turn and en- 
tered the gates along with them, when a fearful mas- 
sacre ensued, committed principally by the Boeotians 
in Alexander's service. Six thousand Thebans are 
said to have been slain, and thirty thousand were 
made prisoners. The doom of the conquered city 
was referred to Alexander's Boeotian allies and the 
Phocians, who decreed her destruction (335 B.C.). 
The inhabitants were sold as slaves, and all the 
houses, except that of Pindar, were levelled to the 



B.C. 335 ALEXANDER AND THE ATHENIANS 303 

ground. The Cadmea was preserved to be occupied 
by a Macedonian garrison. Thebes seems to have 
been thus harshly treated as an example to the rest 
of Greece, for towards the other states, which were 
now eager to make their excuses and submission, 
Alexander showed much forbearance and lenity. The 
conduct of the Athenians exhibits them deeply sunk 
in degradation. When they heard of the chastise- 
ment inflicted upon Thebes, they immediately voted, 
on the motion of Demades, that ambassadors should 
be sent to congratulate Alexander on his safe return 
from his northern expeditions and on his recent suc- 
cess. Alexander, in reply, wrote a letter, demanding 
that a number of the leading Athenian orators should 
be delivered up to him. At the head of the list was 
Demosthenes. In this dilemma, Phocion, w r ho did not 
w 7 ish to speak upon such a question, was loudly called 
upon by the people for his opinion ; whereupon he rose 
and said that the persons whom Alexander demanded 
had brought the state into such a miserable plight 
that it could but obey the conqueror, and that, for his 
own part, he should be very happy to die for the 
commonwealth. At the same time, he advised them 
to try the effect of intercession with Alexander ; and 
it was at last only by his own personal application 
to that monarch, to whom he was favorably known 
by reputation, that the orators were spared. Ac- 
cording to another account, however, the wrath of 
Alexander was appeased by Demades, whom the 
friends of the orators had persuaded by a gift of 
five talents to undertake this task. It is said that at 
one time, probably soon after their meeting, Alexan- 
der sent a present of 100 talents to Phocion. But 
Phocion asked the persons who brought the money 



304 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XX 

why he should be selected for such a bounty. " Be- 
cause," they replied, " Alexander considers you alone 
a good and upright man." "Then," said Phocion, 
" let him suffer me to be what I seem, and to retain 
that character." And when the envoys went to his 
house and beheld the frugality with which he lived, 
they perceived that the man who had refused such a 
gift was wealthier than he who had offered it. 

Having thus put the affairs of Greece on a satis- 
factory footing, Alexander marched for the Helles- 
pont in the spring of 334 b.c, leaving Antipater re- 
gent of Macedonia in his absence, with a force of 
12,000 foot and 1500 horse. Alexander's own army 
consisted of only about 30,000 foot and 5000 horse. 
Of the infantry 12,000 were Macedonians, and these 
composed the pith of the celebrated Macedonian pha- 
lanx. Such was the force with which he proposed 
to attack the immense but ill -cemented empire of 
Persia, which, like the empires of Turkey and Aus- 
tria in modern times, consisted of various nations 
and races, with different religions and manners and 
speaking different languages ; the only bond of union* 
being the despotic will of a monarch whose word was 
law. The provinces were administered by satraps and 
military governors, who enjoyed an almost indepen- 
dent authority. Before Alexander departed he is said 
to have distributed most of the crown property among 
his friends, and when Perdiccas asked him what he had 
reserved for himself, to have replied, " My hopes." 

The March to the Hellespont : Alexander at Troy (334 
B.C.).— A march of twenty days brought Alexander 
to Sestus, where a large fleet and a number of trans- 
ports had been collected. Embarking upon these, the 
army crossed the Hellespont to Abydus, while Alex- 



B.C. 334 THE BATTLE OF THE GRANICUS 305 

ander himself proceeded to Elaeus in the Chersonesus 
and offered sacrifice at the tomb of Protesilaus, the 
first of the Grecian heroes under Agamemnon who set 
foot upon the shore of Asia. Alexander was, as we 
have said, a great admirer of Homer, a copy of whose 
works he always carried with him ; and on landing 
upon the Asiatic coast he made it his first business to 
visit the plain of Troy. He then proceeded to Sige- 
um, where he crowned with a garland the tomb of 
Achilles, the hero whom he most admired and sought 
to emulate. 

The Battle of the Granicus. — Alexander then marched 
to the northeast along the coast of the Hellespont. 
The satraps of Phrygia, Lydia, and Ionia, together 
with other Persian generals, were encamped on the 
farther bank of the river Granicus, with a force of 
about 20,000 mercenaries, for the most part Greeks, 
and an equal number of native cavalry, with which 
they prepared to dispute the passage of the river. The 
veteran general Parmenio advised Alexander to delay 
the attack till the following morning, to which he 
replied that it would be shameful, at the beginning 
of his expedition, if, after passing the Hellespont, he 
should be stopped by a paltry stream. Thereupon 
he directed his cavalry to cross the river, and soon 
followed himself at the head of the ri^ht wing-. The 
passage, however, w 7 as by no means easy. The stream 
was in many parts so deep as to be hardly fordable, 
and the opposite bank was steep and rugged. The 
cavalry had great difficulty in maintaining their 
ground till Alexander came up to their relief. He 
immediately charged into the thickest of the fray, 
and exposed himself so much that his life was often 
in imminent danger, and on one occasion was saved 

20 



306 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XX 

only by the interposition of his friend Clitus. Hav- 
ing routed the Persians, he next attacked the Greek 
mercenaries, 2000 of whom were made prisoners and 
the rest nearly all cut to pieces. In this engagement 
he killed two noble Persians with his own hand. 

The March through Asia Minor : the " Gordian Knot."— 
Alexander now marched southward towards Sardis, 
which surrendered lono* before he reached its walls. 
Having left a garrison in that city, he arrived after 
a four days' march before Ephesus, which likewise 
capitulated on his approach. Magnesia, Tralles, and 
Miletus next fell into his hands, the last being taken 
by storm after a short siege. Halicarnassus made 
more resistance. It was found necessary to invest 
the city and to employ battering-rams and other 
engines of war against the walls ; but at length the 
king's generals, finding it no longer tenable, set fire 
to the city in the night and left it to its fate. Al- 
exander caused it to be razed to the ground, and 
pursued his march along the southern coast of Asia 
Minor, with the view of seizing those towns which 
might afford shelter to a Persian fleet. The winter 
was now approaching, and Alexander sent back to 
Macedonia such officers and soldiers as had been re- 
cently married, on condition that they should return 
in the spring with what reinforcements they could 
raise ; and with the same view he despatched an 
officer to recruit troops in Peloponnesus. Meanwhile 
he himself proceeded along the coasts of Lycia and 
Pamphylia. After he had crossed the Xanthus iriost 
of the Lycian towns tendered their submission. He 
then marched to Perge, in Pamphylia, and, after turn- 
ing aside to reduce Aspendus, forced his way north- 
ward through the barbarous tribes which inhabited 



B.C. 333 • THE GORDIAN KNOT 307 

the mountains of Pisidia, and readied Gordium, in 
Phrygia. Here he was joined by the new levies 
from Greece. Gordium had been the capital of the 
early Phrygian kings, and in it was preserved with 
superstitious veneration the chariot or wagon in which 
the celebrated Midas, the son of Gordius, together 
with his parents, had entered the town, and, in con- 
formity with an oracle, had been elevated to the 
monarchy. An ancient prophecy promised the sov- 
ereignty of Asia to him who should loose the knot 
of bark which fastened the pole of the wagon to the 
yoke. Alexander repaired to the Acropolis, where the 
wagon was preserved, to attempt this feat. Whether 
he undid the knot by drawing out a peg, or cut 
it through with his sword, is a matter of doubt ; at 
any rate, his followers were led to believe that he had 
solved the problem, and that the conquest of Asia 
was therefore sure. 

The Battle of Issus (333 B.C.)-— In the spring of 333 
b.c. Alexander pursued his march eastward, and on 
arriving at Ancyra received the submission of the 
Paphlagonians. He then advanced unopposed through 
Cappadocia ; and, forcing his way through the passes 
of Mount Taurus (the Pylce Cilicice), descended into 
the plains of Cilicia. Hence he pushed on rapidly to 
Tarsus, which he found abandoned by the enemy. 
Tradition relates that while still heated with the 
march Alexander plunged into the clear but cold 
stream of the Cydnus, which runs by the town. 
The result was a fever, which soon became so violent 
as to threaten his life. An Acarnanian physician, 
named Philip, who accompanied him, prescribed a 
remedy ; but at the same time Alexander received a 
letter informing him that Philip had been bribed by 



308 HISTORY OF GREECE - Chap. XX 

Darius, the Persian king, to poison him. He had, 
however, too much confidence in the trusty Philip to 
believe the accusation, and handed him the letter 
while he drank the draught. Either the medicine or 
Alexander's youthful constitution at length triumph- 
ed over the disorder. After remaining some time at 
Tarsus, he continued his march along the coast to 
Mallus, where he first received certain tidings of a 
great Persian army, commanded by Darius in person. 
It is said to have consisted of 600,000 fighting men, 
besides all that train of attendants which usually ac- 
companied the march of a Persian monarch. Alex- 
ander found Darius encamped near Issus, on the right 
bank of the little river Pinarus. The Persian king 
could hardly have been caught in a more unfavorable 
position, since the narrow plain between Mount Ama- 
nus and the sea afforded no scope for the evolutions 
of large bodies, and thus deprived him in large meas- 
ure of the advantage of his numerical superiority. 
Descending from the heights into the plain of the 
Pinarus, Alexander ordered his troops to deploy into 
line as the ground expanded, and thus to arrive in 
battle array before the Persians. Darius had thrown 
30,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry across the river, 
for sheer lack of space in which to draw up his 
army; while on the right bank were stationed his 
choicest Persian troops to the number of 60,000, to- 
gether with 30,000 Greek mercenaries, who formed 
the centre, and on whom he chiefly relied. These, 
it appears, were all that the breadth of the plain al- 
lowed to be drawn up in line. Another detachment 
of 20,000 was posted on the hills to the east ; the re- 
mainder of the vast host were stationed to the rear, 
and w T ere unable to take any share in the combat. 



B.C. 333 



THE BATTLE OF ISSUS 



309 



Darius placed himself in the centre of the line in a 
magnificent state chariot. The banks of the Pinarus 
were in many parts steep, and where they were level 
Darius had caused them to be intrenched. The left 
wing of the Macedonians, under the command of 
Parmenio, was ordered to keep near the sea, to pre- 
vent being outflanked. The right wing was led by 
Alexander in person, who rushed impetuously into 
the river, and was soon engaged in close combat with 




THE BATTLE OF ISSUS 
From a Pompeian Mosaic 



the Persians. The latter were immediately routed ; 
but what chiefly decided the fortune of the day was 
the timidity of Darius himself, who, on beholding 
the defeat of his left wing, immediately took to flight. 
His example was followed by his whole army. One 
hundred thousand Persians are said to have been left 
upon the field. On reaching the hills Darius threw 
aside his royal robes, his bow and shield, and, mount- 
ing a fleet courser, was soon out of reach of pursuit. 



310 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XX 

The Persian camp became the spoil of the Macedo- 
nians ; but the tent of Darius, together with his 
chariot, robes, and arms, was reserved for Alexander 
himself. It was now that the Macedonian king first 
had ocular proof of the nature of Eastern royalty. 
One compartment of the tent of Darius had been fit- 
ted up as a bath, which exhaled the richest odors, 
while another presented a magnificent pavilion, con- 
taining a table richly spread for the banquet of 
Darius. But from an adjoining tent issued the wail 
of female voices, where Sisygambis, the mother, and 
Statira, the wife of Darius, were lamenting the sup- 
posed death of the Persian monarch. Alexander sent 
to assure them of his safet} r , and ordered them to be 
treated with the most delicate and respectful atten- 
tion. 

Alexander plans the Reduction of Phoenicia and Egypt: 
Peace Proposals.— Such was the memorable battle of 
Issus, fought in November, 333 b.c. A large treas- 
ure which Parmenio was sent forward to seize fell 
into the hands of the Macedonians at Damascus. 
The Persians who survived the battle dispersed, and 
Alexander was free to march whither he chose. But 
instead of penetrating at once into the heart of the 
Persian empire he deemed it necessary to reduce 
Phoenicia and Egypt, the two countries upon which 
the naval power of Darius depended. The Persians 
were continually endeavoring to arouse the Greeks 
to revolt against Macedonia, and before the battle of 
Issus a Persian fleet had sailed as far west as Siph- 
nos. In order, therefore, to secure his empire at home, 
Alexander must be master of the king's maritime 
provinces and so prevent Persian ships from sailing 
at will up and down the iEgean. 



B.C. 332 THE SIEGE OF TYRE 311 

Meanwhile, Darius, attended by a body of only 
4000 fugitives, had crossed the Euphrates at Thapsa- 
cus. His hopes and resources were not yet at an 
end, for he might still gather a fresh army from the 
remoter provinces of the empire. Nevertheless, he 
thought it safer to open negotiations with Alexander 
than to trust to the chance of arms. With this view 
he sent a letter to Alexander, who was now at Mara- 
thus in Phoenicia, proposing to become his friend and 
ally ; but Alexander rejected all his overtures, and 
told him that he must in future be addressed, not in 
the language of an equal, but of a subject. 

The Siege of Tyre (332 B.C.). — As Alexander ad- 
vanced southward, the towns of Phoenicia hastened 
to open their gates ; the inhabitants of Sidon even 
hailed him as their deliverer. The Tyrians also sent 
ambassadors to inform him that they were prepared 
to obey his commands ; Alexander vouchsafed to 
them the assurance that he would visit their city 
and offer sacrifices to Melcarth, a Tynan deity, who 
was considered identical with the Grecian Heracles. 
Hereupon, however, the Tyrians informed Alexander 
that they could admit no one, Persian or Macedonian, 
within their walls. Alexander indignantly dismissed 
their ambassadors, and announced his intention of 
laying siege to their city. The Tyrians probably 
deemed it impregnable. It was by nature a place of 
great strength, and had been rendered still stronger 
by art. The island on which it stood was half a mile 
distant from the mainland ; and, though the channel 
was shallow near the coast, it deepened to three fath- 
oms near the island. The shores of the island were 
precipitous, and, on the side towards the mainlands 
the walls rose to a very great height. As Alexander 



312 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XX 

possessed no ships, tbe only method by which he 
could approach the town was by constructing a cause- 
way, the materials for which were collected principally 
from the ruins of Old Tyre, on the mainland. After 
overcoming many difficulties, the mole was at length 
pushed to the foot of the walls. Alexander also suc- 
ceeded in gathering a fleet, and the walls of the city 
were now attacked on all sides. The engines of war 
which were employed soon made a breach in the 
walls large enough to admit of the entrance of an 
attacking party. This breach was stormed under 
the immediate inspection of Alexander himself ; and 
though the Tyrians made a desperate resistance, they 
were at length overpowered, when the city became 
a scene of indiscriminate carnage and plunder. The 
siege had lasted seven months, and the Macedonians 
were so exasperated by the difficulties and dangers 
they had undergone that they granted no quarter. 
Eight thousand of the citizens are said to have been 
slain ; and the remainder, w T ith the exception of the 
king and some of the principal men, who had taken 
refuge in the temple of Melcarth, were sold into 
slavery. Tyre was taken in the month of August, 
332 B.C. 

While Alexander was engaged in the siege of 
Tyre, Darius made him further and more advanta- 
geous proposals. He now offered 10,000 talents as 
the ransom of his family, together with all the prov- 
inces west of the Euphrates, and one of his daughters 
in marriage, as the conditions of a peace. When 
these offers were submitted to the council, Parmenio 
was not unnaturally struck with their magnificence, 
and observed that were he Alexander, he would ac- 
cept them. "And so would I," replied the king, 



B.C. 331 THE FOUNDING OF ALEXANDRIA 313 

" were I Parmenio." His proposals having been re- 
jected, Darius prepared himself for a desperate re- 
sistance. 

The Conquest of Egypt.— After the fall of Tyre, Alex- 
ander marched with his army towards Egypt, while 
his fleet proceeded along the coast. Gaza, a strong 
fortress near the sea-shore, obstinately held out, and 
delayed his progress for two months. After the capt- 
ure of this city Alexander met his fleet at Pelusium, 
and ordered it to sail up the Nile as far as Memphis, 
whither he himself marched with his army across the 
desert. He conciliated the affection of the Egyptians 
by the respect with which he treated their national 
superstitions, while the Persians, by an opposite line 
of conduct, had incurred their deadliest hatred. He 
then sailed down the western branch of the Nile, and 
at its mouth traced the plan of the new city of Alex- 
andria, which for many centuries continued to be not 
only the grand emporium of Europe, Africa, and 
India, but also the principal centre of intellectual life. 
Being now on the confines of Libya, Alexander re- 
solved to visit the celebrated oracle of Amnion, which 
lay in the bosom of the Libyan wilderness. The con- 
queror was received by the priests with all the honors 
of sacred pomp. He consulted the oracle in secret, 
and is said never to have disclosed the answer which 
he received ; though the magnificence of the offer- 
ings which he made to the god seemed to show that 
it was an answer which contented him. Many say 
that Ammon saluted him as the son of Zeus. Certain 
it is that, in some way, Alexander succeeded in start- 
ing and maintaining among many of his followers, 
and among many of the barbarian nations yet to be 
conquered by him, a belief in his divinity. 



314 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XX 

The Battle of Gaugamela (October, 331 B.C.). — Alex- 
ander returned to Phoenicia in the spring of 331 b.c. 
He then directed his march through Syria, and ar- 
rived at Thapsacus on the Euphrates in July. After 
crossing the river he proceeded to the northeast 
through a fertile and well-supplied country. On his 
march he was told that Darius was posted with an 
immense force on the left bank of the Tigris, but on 
arriving at that river he found nobody to dispute his 
passage. He then proceeded southward along its 
banks, and after four days' march fell in with a few 
of the enemy's cavalry. From some of these who 
were made prisoners Alexander learned that Darius 
was encamped with his host on one of the exten- 
sive plains to the east of the Tigris, near a village 
called Gaugamela. The town of Arbela, after which 
the battle that ensued is commonly named, was about 
sixty miles distant, and there Darius had deposited 
his baggage and treasure. That monarch had been 
easily persuaded that his former defeat w 7 as owing 
solely to the nature of the ground ; and, therefore, 
he now selected a wide plain for an engagement, 
where there was abundant room for his multitudinous 
infantry and for the evolutions of his horsemen and 
charioteers. Alexander, after giving his army a few 
days' rest, set out to meet the enemy shortly before 
midnight, in order that he might come up with them 
about daybreak. On ascending some hillocks, the 
whole array of the Persians suddenly burst upon the 
view of the Macedonians, at the distance of three or 
four miles. Darius, as usual, occupied the centre, 
surrounded by his body-guard and chosen troops. 
Near the royal position were ranged the war -chariots 
and on either side the Greek mercenaries. The whole 



B.C. 331 THE BATTLE OF GAUGAMELA 315 

army of Darius is said to have numbered 1,000,000 
foot and 40,000 horse. Alexander spent the first day 
in surveying the ground and preparing for the at- 
tack ; he also addressed his officers, pointing out to 
them that the prize of victory would not be a mere 
province, but the dominion of all Asia. Yet so great 
was the tranquillity with which he contemplated the 
result that at daybreak on the following morning, 
when the officers came to receive his final instructions, 
they are said to have found him in a deep slumber. 
His army, which consisted of only 40,000 foot and 7000 
horse, was drawn up in the order which he usually 
observed, namely, with the phalanx in the centre in 
six divisions, and the Macedonian cavalry on the right, 
where Alexander himself took his station. The Per- 
sians, fearful of being surprised, had stood under arms 
the whole night, so that the morning found them 
exhausted and dispirited. Some of them, however, 
fought with considerable bravery; indeed, Parmenio, 
who commanded the left wing of the Macedonians, was 
defeated and compelled to seek assistance from Alex- 
ander. But when Alexander succeeded in breaking 
the Persian centre by an impetuous oblique charge, 
Darius mounted a fleet horse and took to flight, as 
at Issus, though the fortune of the day was yet far 
from having been decided. At length, however, the 
rout became general. While daylight lasted Alex- 
ander pursued the flying enemy as far as the banks 
of the Lycus. After resting his men a few hours, he 
continued the pursuit at midnight in the hope of 
overtaking Darius at Arbela. The Persian monarch, 
however, had continued his flight without stopping; 
but the whole of the royal baggage and treasure was 
captured. 



316 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XX 

Alexander at Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis.— Finding 
any further pursuit of Darius hopeless, Alexander now 
directed his march towards Babylon. At a little dis- 
tance from the city the greater part of the population 
came out to meet him, headed by their priests and 
magistrates, tendering their submission and bearing 
with them magnificent presents. Nor was this the 
mere display of a compulsory submission. Under the 
Persian sway the Chaldean religion had been op- 
pressed and persecuted ; the temple of Belus had been 
destroyed and still lay in ruins ; and both priests and 
people consequently rejoiced at the downfall of a dy- 
nasty from which they had suffered so much wrong. 
Alexander observed here the same politic conduct 
which he had adopted in Egypt. He caused the ruined 
temples to be restored, and offered personally, but 
under the direction of the priests, a sacrifice to Belus. 
He then proceeded to Susa. It was there that the 
Persian treasures were chiefly accumulated, and Alex- 
ander had despatched one of his generals to take 
possession of the city immediately after the battle 
of Gaugamela. It was surrendered without a blow 
by the satrap Abulites. The treasure found there 
amounted to 50,000 talents. Moreover, the interest 
of the Greeks was excited in a lively manner by the 
discovery of the spoils carried off from Greece by 
Xerxes. Among them were the bronze statues of 
Harmodius and Aristogiton, which Alexander now 
sent back to Athens, and which were long afterwards 
preserved in the Ceramicus. 

At Susa Alexander received reinforcements of 
more than 15,000 men from Greece. He then direct- 
ed his march southeastward towards Persepolis. His 
road lay through the mountainous territory of the 



B.C. 330 THE DEATH OF DARIUS 317 

Uxians, who refused him a passage unless he paid the 
usual tribute which they were in the habit of extort- 
ing even from the Persian kings. But Alexander 
routed them with great slaughter. He then advanced 
rapidly to Persepolis, whose magnificent ruins still 
attest its ancient splendor. It was the real capital 
of the Persian kings, though they generally resided 
at Susa during the winter and at Ecbatana in sum- 
mer. The treasure found there exceeded that of 
Babylon and Susa. It is said to have amounted to 
120,000 talents, or about $125,000,000. It was here 
that Alexander is related to have committed an act 
of thoughtless folly, by firing the ancient and magnif- 
icent palace of the Persian kings. 

The Death of Darius (330 B.C.). — Thus, in between 
three and four }^ears after crossing the Hellespont, 
Alexander had established himself on the Persian 
throne. But Darius was not yet in his power. After 
the battle of Gaugamela that monarch had fled to 
Ecbatana. It was not till several months after the 
battle of Gaugamela, and consequently early in 330 
B.C., that Alexander quitted Persepolis to resume the 
pursuit of Darius. On approaching Ecbatana lie 
learned that the Persian monarch had already fled 
with the little army which still adhered to him. Al- 
exander, with his main body, then pursued Darius 
through Media by forced marches, and reached 
Rhagse, a town about three hundred and sixty miles 
from Ecbatana, in eleven days. Such was the rapid- 
ity of the march that many men and horses died of 
fatigue. At Rhagse he heard that Darius had already 
passed the defile called the " Caspian Gates," leading 
into the northeastern provinces of the Persian em- 
pire ; and, as that pass was about fifty miles distant, 



318 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XX 

urgent pursuit was evidently useless. He therefore 
allowed his troops five days' rest, and then resumed 
his march. Soon after passing the Gates, he learned 
that Darius had been seized by his own satrap Bessus, 
who entertained the design of usurping the kingly 
power. This intelligence stimulated Alexander to 
make still further haste with part of his cavalry and 
a chosen body of foot. On the fourth day he suc- 
ceeded in overtaking the fugitives with his cavalry, 
having been obliged to leave the infantry behind, 
with directions to follow more at leisure. The enemy, 
who did not know his real strength, were struck with 
consternation at his appearance; most of them offered 
no resistance. Bessus, however, and his immediate 
companions did not take to flight until they had 
mortally wounded Darius in the carriage in which 
they kept him confined. Alexander gave orders that 
he should be magnificently buried in the tomb of his 
ancestors, and provided for the fitting education of 
his children. 

Alexander subjugates the Remoter Provinces of the Persian 
Empire (330-327 B.C.).— The next three years were em- 
ployed by Alexander in subduing Hyrcania, Drangi- 
ana, Bactria, Sogdiana, and the other northern and 
eastern provinces of the Persian empire. In these 
distant regions he founded several cities, one of which, 
in Aria, called after him (Alexandria Ariorum), is still, 
under the name of Herat, one of the chief cities in 
central Asia. Alexander's stay in Prophthasia, the 
capital of Drangiana, was made memorable by the 
trial of Philotas, the son of Parmenio, on the charge 
of treason. Alexander had long entertained suspi- 
cions of Philotas, but the immediate subject of ac- 
cusation against him was that he had not revealed 



B.C. 328-327 THE CONQUEST OF SOGDIANA 319 

a conspiracy which was reported to be forming 
against Alexander's life. He was consequently sus- 
pected of being implicated in it, and was put to 
death (330 B.C.). Moreover, Alexander at once sent 
an order to Ecbatana, where Parmenio then was, 
directing that that veteran general should be ex- 
ecuted. 

Meantime Bessus had assumed the royal dignity in 
Bactria, but upon Alexander's approach he fled across 
the Oxus into Sogdiana (329 B.C.). After receiving 
the submission of the Bactrians, Alexander pushed 
on in pursuit of the usurper, w T ho was at length capt- 
ured through the treachery of two of his own offi- 
cers. He was carried to Ecbatana and there put to 
death. 

Alexander even crossed the river Jaxartes and de- 
feated the Scythians. Sogdiana alone of the northern 
provinces offered any serious resistance to his arms. 
Accordingly, in 328 B.C., he again crossed the Oxus. 
He divided his army into five bodies, ordering them 
to scour the country in different directions. After a 
successful campaign Alexander went into winter-quar- 
ters at Nautaca. Early in the spring he marched 
against a fortress in which many of the barbarians 
had taken refuge. It was situated on an isolated rock, 
so precipitous as to be deemed inaccessible, and so 
well supplied with provisions as to defy a blockade. 
The summons to surrender was treated with derision 
by the commander, who inquired whether the Mace- 
donians had wings. But a small body of Macedo- 
nians having succeeded in reaching the summit of 
the rock during the night, the garrison became so 
alarmed that they immediately surrendered. To this 
place a Bactrian named Oxyartes, an adherent of 



320 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XX 

Bessus, had sent his daughters for safety. One of 
them, named Roxana, was of surpassing beauty, and 
Alexander made her his queen. 

The Murder of Clitus. — It was probably in Sogdiana 
that Alexander was guilty of a crime which has for- 
ever stained his memory. He was celebrating with 
his friends a festival in honor of the Dioscuri (Castor 
and Pollux), and the banquet which closed the day 
had already been long continued when some of those 
who were present began to magnify the praises of 
Alexander with extravagant flattery. Clitus, whom 
wine had released from all prudent reserve, rebuked 
their adulation ; and, as the conversation turned on 
the comparative merits of the exploits of Alexander 
and his father Philip, he did not hesitate to prefer 
the exploits of the latter. He reminded Alexander 
of his former services, and, stretching forth his hand, 
exclaimed, "It was this hand, Alexander, which 
saved your life at the battle of the Granicus !" The 
king, who was also flushed with wine, was so enraged 
by these words that he rushed at Clitus with the in- 
tention of killing him on the spot, but he was held 
back by his friends, while Clitus was at the same 
time hurried out of the room. But when he returned 
to brave the anger of Alexander, the monarch struck 
him down with a spear. When the deed was done 
he was seized with repentance and remorse. He 
flung himself on his couch, and remained for three 
days in an agony of grief, refusing all sustenance, 
and calling on the names of Clitus and of his sister 
Lanice, who had been his nurse. It was not till his 
bodily strength began to fail through protracted ab- 
stinence that lie at last became more composed and 
consented to listen to the consolations of his friends. 



B.C. 327-325 THE INDIAN EXPEDITION 321 

The Indian Expedition (327-325 B.C.)— After reducing 
Sosrdiana, Alexander returned into Bactria and be- 
gan to prepare for his projected expedition into In- 
dia. While he was thus employed a plot was formed 
against his life by the royal pages, incited by Hermo- 
laus, one of their number, who had been punished 
with stripes for anticipating the king during a hunt- 
ing-party in slaying a w T ild boar. Hermolaus and 
his associates were apprehended and put to death. 
It seems certain that a conspiracy existed, but no 
less certain that the growing pride and haughtiness 
of Alexander were gradually alienating from him the 
hearts of his followers. 

Alexander did not leave Bactria till late in the 
spring (327 B.C.). He crossed the Indus by a bridge of 
boats near Taxila, where the river is about 1000 feet 
broad and very deep. He now found himself in the 
district between the rivers Indus and Hydaspes. 
Taxiles, the sovereign of the district, at once surren- 
dered Taxila, his capital, and joined the Macedonian 
force with 5000 men. Hence Alexander proceeded 
to the river Hydaspes. On the opposite bank, Porus, 
a powerful Indian king, prepared to dispute his prog- 
ress with a numerous and well-appointed force. Al- 
exander, however, by a skilful stratagem conveyed 
his army safely across the river. An obstinate battle 
then ensued. In the army of Porus were many ele- 
phants, the sight of w T hich frightened the horses of 
Alexander's cavalry. But these unwieldy animals ul- 
timately proved as dangerous to the Indians as to 
the Greeks ; for when driven into a narrow space 
they became unmanageable and created great con- 
fusion in the ranks of Porus. By a few vigorous 
charges the Indians were completely routed, with the 

21 



322 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XX 

loss of more than 20,000 men. Among the prisoners 
was Poms himself, who was conducted into the pres- 
ence of Alexander. The courage which he had dis- 
played in the battle had excited the admiration of 
the Macedonian kin2f. Mounted on an enormous eie- 
pliant, he retreated leisurely when the day was lost, 
and long rejected every summons to surrender, till at 
length, overcome by thirst and fatigue, he permitted 
himself to be taken. Even in this situation Porus 
still retained his majestic bearing, the effect of which 
was increased by his extraordinary stature. On Alex- 
ander's inquiring how he wished to be treated, he 
replied, "Like a king." "And have you no other 
request ?" asked Alexander. " No," answered Porus ; 
"everything is comprehended in the word king." 
Struck by his magnanimity, Alexander not only re- 
stored him to his dominions, but also considerably 
enlarged them, seeking in this way to retain him as 
an obedient and faithful vassal. 

Alexander rested a month on the banks of the 
Hydaspes, where he celebrated his victory by games 
and sacrifices, and founded two towns, one of which 
he named Nicsea and the other Bucephala, in honor 
of his gallant charger Bucephalus, which is said to 
have died there. He then crossed the Acesines, capt- 
ured the city of Sangala, and marched on to the 
Hyphasis. Upon reaching this river, the army, worn 
out by fatigues and dangers, positively refused to 
proceed any farther, although Alexander passionately 
desired to attack the tribes which dwelt beyond the 
Hyphasis. All his attempts to induce his soldiers to 
proceed proving ineffectual, he returned to the Hy- 
daspes, where he ordered detachments of his army to 
descend along the banks on either side, while he him- 



B.C. 326-325 THE RETURN FROM INDIA 323 

self, with 8000 men, embarked on board a large fleet, 
which he had ordered to be built with the view of 
sailing down the Indus to its mouth. 

The army began to move in the summer of 326 b.c. 
The navigation lasted several months, but was accom- 
plished without any serious opposition except from 
the tribe of the Malli. At the storming of a town in 
their country the life of Alexander was exposed to 
imminent danger. He was the first to scale the walls 
of the citadel, and was followed by three others ; but 
before a fourth man could mount, the ladders broke, 
and Alexander was left exposed on the wall to the 
missiles of the enemy. Leaping down into the cita- 
del among the barbarians, he placed his back to the 
wall, where he succeeded in keeping the enemy at 
bay, and slew their chief, who had ventured within 
reach of his sword; but an arrow which pierced his 
corselet brought him to the ground, fainting with 
loss of blood. Two of his followers, who had jumped 
down after him, now stood over and defended him, 
till at length, more soldiers having scaled the walls 
and opened one of the gates, sufficient numbers poured 
in not only to rescue their monarch, but to capture the 
citadel, whereupon every living being within the place 
was put to the sword. When the mouth of the Indus 
was reached, Nearchus, with the fleet, was directed 
to proceed along the coast to the Persian Gulf and 
the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates. Meanwhile 
Alexander proceeded with his army through the burn- 
ing deserts of Gedrosia towards Persepolis, marching 
on foot himself, and sharing the privations and fa- 
tigues of the meanest soldier. In these regions the 
very atmosphere seems to be composed of a fine dust, 
which on the slightest wind penetrates into the mouth 



324 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XX 

and nose, while the soil affords no firm footing to the 
traveller. The march through this inhospitable re- 
gion lasted sixty days, during which numbers of the 
soldiers perished from fatigue, hunger, or disease. 
At length they emerged into the fertile province of 
Carmania. While in this country Alexander was re- 
joined by Nearchus, who subsequently prosecuted his 
voyage to the head of the Persian Gulf. 

The Return to Susa: Mutiny at Opis (324 B.C.).— Upon 
reaching Susa, Alexander allowed his soldiers to re- 
pose from their fatigues and amused them with a 
series of brilliant festivities. It was here that he 
adopted various measures with the view of consoli- 
dating his empire. One of the most important was 
to form the Greeks and Persians into one people by 
means of intermarriages. He himself celebrated his 
nuptials with Barsine, the eldest daughter of Darius, 
and bestowed the hand of her sister, Drypetis, upon 
Hephsestion. Other marriages were made between 
Alexander's officers and Asiatic women, to the num- 
ber, it is said, of nearly a hundred, while more than 
ten thousand of the common soldiers followed their ex- 
ample and took native wives. As another means of 
amalgamating the Europeans and Asiatics, he caused 
numbers of the latter to be admitted into the army, 
and to be armed and trained in the Macedonian fash- 
ion. But these innovations were regarded with a 
jealous eye by most of the Macedonian veterans; and 
their feeling was increased by the conduct of Alex- 
ander himself, who assumed every day more and 
more of the state and manners of an Eastern monarch. 
Their long-stifled dissatisfaction broke out into open 
mutiny and rebellion at a review which took place at 
Opis, on the Tigris. But the mutiny was quelled by 



B.C. 323 THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER 325 

the decisive conduct of Alexander. He immediately 
caused thirteen of the ringleaders to be seized and 
executed, and then, addressing the remainder, pointed 
out to them how, by his own and his father's exer- 
tions, they had been raised from the condition of 
scattered herdsmen to be the masters of Greece and 
the lords of Asia ; and that, while he had given over 
to them the richest and most valuable fruits of his 
conquest, he had reserved nothing but the diadem 
for himself, as the mark of his superior labors and 
more imminent perils. He then secluded himself 
for two whole days ; on the third his Macedonian 
guard was exchanged for a Persian one, while nobles 
of the same nation were appointed to the most con- 
fidential posts about his person. Overcome by these 
marks of alienation on the part of their sovereign, 
the Macedonians now supplicated with tears to be re- 
stored to favor. A solemn reconciliation was effected, 
and 10,000 veterans were permitted to return to their 
homes under the conduct of Craterus. That general 
was also appointed to the government of Macedonia 
and Greece in place of Antipater, who was ordered 
to repair to Asia with fresh reinforcements. 

Soon after these occurrences Alexander proceeded 
to Ecbatana, where a grand festival was celebrated 
with literary and athletic contests. But the king's 
enjoyment was suddenly converted into bitterness 
by the death of his friend Hephaestion, who was car- 
ried off by a fever. This event threw Alexander into 
a deep melancholy, from which he never entirely re- 
covered. The memory of Hephrestion was honored 
by extravagant marks of public mourning, and his 
body was conveyed to Babylon, to be there interred 
with the utmost magnificence. 



326 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XX 

The Death of Alexander (323 B.C.).— Alexander re- 
turned to Babylon early in the year 323 B.C., notwith- 
standing the warnings of the Chaldean soothsayers, 
who predicted some serious evil to him if he entered 
the city at that time. Babylon was now to witness 
the consummation of his triumphs and of his life. 
Ambassadors from all parts of Greece, from Libya, 
Italy, and still more distant regions, were waiting to 
salute him and to do homage to him as the conquer- 
or of Asia ; the fleet under Nearchus had arrived 
after its long and enterprising voyage ; while for 
the reception of this navy a spacious harbor was in 
process of construction, which seemed to turn the in- 
land city of Babylon into a port. The mind of Alex- 
ander was still occupied with plans of conquest and 
ambition ; his next design was the subjugation of 
Arabia. He despatched three expeditions to explore 
the coast of that country, while he devoted his own 
energies to surveying the course of the Euphrates 
and devising and perfecting important changes in 
the organization of the phalanx. While thus occupied, 
he was suddenly seized with symptoms of fever. 
Within a few days the malady had gained a fatal 
strength, and terminated his life in June, 323 B.C., 
at the early age of thirt}^-two. While he lay speech- 
less on his death-bed his troops were admitted to see 
him, but he could offer them only faint tokens of 
recognition. 

Alexander's Character and Achievements.— The magni- 
tude of Alexander's achievements gives him an un- 
disputed right to the title of " Great." He was great 
as a general, as an administrator, and as a man. A 
young and impetuous conqueror, he was vain of his 
exploits and too apt to yield to outbursts of passion. 



B.C. 323 ALEXANDER'S ACHIEVEMENTS 327 

Yet he was a humane leader, a true friend, and a 
man of great purity and uprightness of character. 
His talents as a statesman are shown by the effec- 
tive organization and government of his vast em- 
pire. On the field of battle his troops were held 
under the most perfect control, and their movements 
directed with swift and unerring sagacity against 
that point in the enemy's line where a successful 
charge meant victory. It has been said that Alex- 
ander's military renown consists more in the seem- 
ingly extravagant boldness of his enterprises than in 
the real power of the foes whom he overcame, and 
that his chief difficulties were the geographical con- 
ditions of distance, climate, and the nature of the 
ground traversed. This, however, is only partially 
true ; for Alexander encountered large bodies of 
Greek mercenaries at the Granicus, at Issus, and at 
Gaugamela, and the foes whom he met in his later 
battles were by no means so easy to subdue as the 
ill-organized and cowardly masses who made up in 
great part the armies of Darius. The motive which 
actuated Alexander was, no doubt, the love of glory 
and conquest rather than any wish to benefit his sub- 
jects. Yet his achievements, though they undoubt- 
edly occasioned great misery, must be regarded as 
beneficial to the human race. By his conquests the 
two continents were put into closer communication 
with each other ; and both, but particularly Asia, 
were the gainers. The language, the arts, and the 
literature of Greece were introduced into the East ; 
and, after the death of Alexander, Greek kingdoms 
were formed in the western parts of Asia, which con- 
tinued to exist for many generations. 



CHAPTER XXI 

FROM THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT TO 
THE CONQUEST OF GREECE BY THE ROMANS, 323- 
146 B.C. 

Unsuccessful Uprising in Greece: Demosthenes " On the 
Crown " (330 B.C.).— The vast empire of Alexander the 
Great was divided, at his death, among his generals ; 
but before relating their history it is necessary to 
take a brief retrospective glance at the affairs of 
Greece. Four years after Alexander had quitted 
Europe the Spartans made a vigorous effort to throw 
off the Macedonian yoke. They were joined by 
many of the Peloponnesian states ; but, though they 
met with some success at first, they were finally de- 
feated with great slaughter by Antipater near Mega- 
lopolis. Agis fell in this battle, and the supremacy 
of Macedonia was established more firmly than ever. 
This victory, and the successes of Alexander in the 
East, encouraged the Macedonian party in Athens to 
take active measures against Demosthenes ; and iEs- 
chines, his great opponent, now pressed a charge 
against him which had lain dormant for several 
years. Not long after the battle of Chaeronea, a cer- 
tain Ctesiphon had proposed that Demosthenes should 
be presented with a golden crown in the theatre dur- 
ing the great Dionysiac festival, on account of the 
services which he had rendered his country. JEs- 



B.C. 330 THE TRIUMPH OF DEMOSTHENES 329 

chines thereupon indicted Ctesiphon, charging that 
the proposed decree was unconstitutional. Ctesiphon, 
therefore, was the nominal defendant, though really 
it was Demosthenes who was put upon his trial. 
The case was decided in 330 B.C., and has been 
immortalized by the memorable and still extant 
speeches of iEschines "Against Ctesiphon," and of 
Demosthenes "On the Crown." iEschines, who did 
not obtain a fifth part of the votes, and consequently 
became himself liable to a penalty, was so chagrined 
at his defeat that he retired to Asia Minor. 

Harpalus in Athens : the Exile of Demosthenes (323 
B.C.).— In 324 B.C., Harpalus arrived in Athens. He 
had been left by Alexander at Babylon in charge of 
the royal treasures ; but during the absence of Alex- 
ander in India he gave himself up to the most ex- 
travagant luxury and profusion, squandering the 
treasures intrusted to him, at the same time that he 
alienated the people subject to his rule by his lust- 
ful excesses. He no doubt thought that Alexander 
would never return from the remote regions of the 
East into which he had penetrated ; but when he at 
length learned that the kino* had reached Persia in 
safety, and had visited with unsparing rigor those of 
his officers who had been guilty of any excesses dur- 
ing his absence, he at once saw that his only resource 
was in flight. Collecting together all the treasures 
which he could, and assembling a body of 6000 
mercenaries, he hastened to the coast of Asia, and 
thence crossed over to Attica. At first the Athenians 
refused to receive him ; returning, however, shortly 
afterwards, without troops but with his ill-gotten 
gold, he was admitted to the city. Such a step on 
the part of the Athenians was tantamount to an act 



330 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXI 

of hostility against Macedonia itself, and accordingly 
Philoxenus, the Macedonian satrap of Cilicia and 
western Asia Minor, ordered the Athenians to deliver 
np the fugitive. Instead of obeying this command, 
the Athenians contented themselves, on the advice of 
Demosthenes, with imprisoning Harpalus and taking 
public charge of his treasure. Harpalus soon effected 
his escape to Crete, whereupon it was discovered that 
one half of the treasure which he had brought to 
Athens had disappeared. An investigation was insti- 
tuted, and Demosthenes was one of those who were 
brought to trial on the charge of bribe-taking. He 
was declared to be guilty, and condemned to pay 
a fine of fifty talents. Not being able to raise that 
sum, he was thrown into prison, but contrived to 
make his escape, and went into exile. 

The Lamian War (323-322 B.C.).— When the news of 
Alexander's death reached Athens the anti-Macedo- 
nian party, which since the exile of Demosthenes had 
been led by Hyperides, carried all before it. The 
people in a decree declared their determination to 
support the liberty of Greece. Envoys were de- 
spatched to all the Grecian states to announce the 
determination of Athens, and to exhort them to 
struggle with her for their independence. This call 
met with little or no response in Peloponnesus ; on 
the other hand, many of the states of northern 
Greece joined the movement. The Athenian Leos- 
thenes was appointed commander-in-chief of the allied 
forces. 

The Grecian army assembled in the neighborhood 
of Thermopylae. Antipater now advanced from the 
north, and offered battle near the pass ; but, being 
deserted by his Thessalian cavalry, who went over 



B.C. 323-322 THE LAMIAN WAR 331 

to his opponents before or during the engagement, 
he was defeated and obliged to retreat, whereupon 
he threw himself into Lamia, a strongly fortified 
town near the Malian Gulf. Leosthenes, desirous to 
finish the war at a blow, pressed the siege with the 
utmost vigor; but his assaults were repulsed, and he 
was compelled to resort to the slower method of a 
blockade. From this town the contest between 
Antipater and the allied Greeks has been called the 
Lam i an War. 

The novelty of a victory over the Macedonian arms 
was received with boundless exultation at Athens, 
and renewed efforts were put forth to enlarge and 
strengthen the anti-Macedonian confederation. De- 
mosthenes, though still an exile, attached himself to 
an Athenian embassy in Peloponnesus, and exerted 
himself in various states in counteracting the envoys 
of Antipater, and in endeavoring to gain adherents to 
the cause of Athens and the allies. The Athenians, 
in return, invited Demosthenes back to his native 
country, and a ship was sent to convey him to Piraeus, 
where he was received with extraordinary honors. 

Meanwhile Leonnatus, ruler of the Hellespontine 
Phrygia, appeared on the theatre of war with an 
army of 20,000 foot and 2500 horse. Leosthenes 
had been slain at Lamia by a sally of the besieged ; 
and Antiphilus, to whom the command of the allied 
army was given, hastened to offer battle to Leonna- 
tus before he could arrive at Lamia. In the engage- 
ment which ensued Leonnatus was killed and his 
troops defeated. Antipater, as soon as the blockade 
of Lamia was raised, had followed Antiphilus, and on 
the day after the battle he effected a junction with 
the beaten army of Leonnatus. 



332 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXI 

Shortly afterwards Antipater was still further re- 
inforced by the arrival of Craterus with a considera- 
ble force from Asia ; and being now at the head of 
an armv which outnumbered the forces of the allies, 
he marched against them and gained a decisive vic- 
tory near Crannon, in Thessaly, in September, 322 b.c. 
The allies now determined to sue for peace ; but 
Antipater refused to treat with them except as sep- 
arate states, foreseeing that by this means many 
would be detached from the confederacy. The re- 
sult answered his expectations. One by one the va- 
rious states submitted, till at length all had laid down 
their arms. Athens, the original instigator of the in- 
surrection, now lay at the mercy of the conqueror. 
As Antipater advanced, Phocion used all the influence 
which he possessed with the Macedonians in favor 
of his countrymen, but he could obtain no other terms 
than unconditional surrender. On a second mission 
Phocion received the final demands of Antipater, 
which were that the Athenians should deliver up a 
certain number of their statesmen, among whom w r ere 
Demosthenes and Hyperides; that their political fran- 
chise should be limited by a property qualification ; 
that they should receive a Macedonian garrison in 
Munichia ; and that they should defray the expenses 
of the war. Such was the result of the Lamian war, 
which riveted the fetters of Greece still more firmly. 

The Death of Demosthenes (322 B.C.).— After the return 
of the envoys bringing the ultimatum of Antipater, 
the unscrupulous Demades procured a decree for the 
death of the denounced statesmen. Demosthenes and 
the other persons concerned had already made their 
escape from Athens. Hyperides, with two others, 
fled to the sanctuary of iEacus, in iEgina, while De- 



B.C. 322 THE DEATH OF DEMOSTHENES 333 

mostbenes took refuge in that of Poseidon, in the isle 
of Calauria, near Troezen. But the satellites of An- 
tipater, under the guidance of a Thurian named Ar- 
chias, who had formerly been an actor, hunted down 
the fugitives. Hyperides was carried to Cleome to 
be executed, and it is said that Antipater took the 
brutal and cowardly revenge of ordering his tongue 
to be cut out and his remains to be thrown to the 
dogs. Demosthenes contrived at last to escape the 
insults of the conqueror. Archias at first endeav- 
ored to entice him from his sanctuary by the bland- 
est promises. But Demosthenes, forewarned, it is 
said, by a dream, fixing his eyes intently upon him, 
exclaimed, " Your acting, Archias, never touched me 
formerly, nor do your promises now." And when 
Archias began to employ threats, "Now," said De- 
mosthenes, "you speak as from the Macedonian tri- 
pod ; before you were only playing a part. But 
wait awhile, and let me write my last directions to 
my family." So, taking his writing materials, he 
put the reed into his mouth, and bit it for some time, 
as was his custom when composing ; after which he 
covered his head with his garment. The guards who 
accompanied Archias, imagining this to be mere cow- 
ardice, laughed and called him a weakling, while Ar- 
chias began to renew his false persuasions. Demos- 
thenes, feeling the poison work — for such it was that 
he had concealed in the reed — now bade him lead on. 
"You may now," said he, "enact the part of Creon, 
and cast me out unburied ; but at least, O gracious 
Poseidon, I have not polluted thy temple by my death, 
which Antipater and his Macedonians would not have 
scrupled to do." But while he was endeavoring to 
walk out he fell down by the altar and expired. 



334 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXI 

The Division of Alexander's Empire The history of 

Alexander's successors is marked from first to last by 
dissensions, crimes, and unscrupulous ambition. It 
is only necessary for the purpose of the present work 
to mention very briefly the most important events. 

Alexander, on his death-bed, is said to have given 
his signet-ring to Perdiccas, but he had left no heir 
to his throne, though his wife Roxana was pregnant. 
After Alexander's death a military council was as- 
sembled in which Perdiccas assumed a leading part, 
and in which, after much debate, an arrangement 
was at length effected on the following basis : That 
Philip Arrhidaeus, a young man of weak intellect, the 
half-brother of Alexander (being the son of Philip by 
a Thessalian woman named Philinna), should be de- 
clared king ; that the government of Macedonia and 
Greece should be divided between Antipater and Crat- 
erus ; that Ptolemy should preside over Egypt ; that 
Antigonus should have the Greater Phrygia, Lycia, 
and Pamphylia ; that the Hellespontine Phrygia 
should be assigned to Leonnatus ; that Eumenes 
should have the satrapy of Paphlagonia and Cappa- 
docia, the latter of which countries, however, still re- 
mained to be subdued ; that Laomedon should rule 
over Syria ; that Philotas should receive Cilicia ; and 
that Thrace should be committed to Lysimachus. 
Perdiccas took to himself the title of Protector of the 
Empire, and became commander-in-chief of the army. 
In due time Roxana was delivered of a son. He was 
at once hailed as king, received the name Alexander, 
and was made the partner of Arrhidieus in the empire. 
Roxana had previously caused Barsine, the other wife 
of Alexander, to be assassinated. It was not until 
now, as it appears, that the last rites were paid to 



B.C. 321 PERDICCAS INVADES EGYPT 335 

Alexander's remains. They were finally conveyed in 
a magnificent funeral car to Alexandria in Egypt. 

The Death of Perdiccas : a Second Division of the Empire 
(320 B.C.). — Perdiccas, by virtue of his position as 
protector or regent, was nominally at the head of the 
empire ; he aspired to be recognized as actually su- 
preme, and sought to strengthen himself by a mar- 
riage with Cleopatra, Alexander's sister. His am- 
bitious designs, however, soon brought him into con- 
flict with the most powerful of Alexander's generals, 
Antigonus and Ptolemy. Antigonus had declined 
to assist Eumenes, the intimate friend of Perdiccas, 
in the conquest of Cappadocia. Perdiccas, therefore, 
attempted to bring him to trial on the charge of 
insubordination (322 B.C.); but Antigonus made his 
escape to Macedonia, where he revealed to Antipater 
the full extent of the ambitious schemes of Perdic- 
cas, and thus at once induced Antipater and Craterus 
to unite in a league with him against the regent. 
Ambassadors were also sent to Egypt to secure the 
support of Ptolemy. Meanwhile the growing power 
of the latter had aroused the ill-will of Perdiccas, 
who determined, now that he had put Antigonus to 
flight, to turn his arms against Ptolemy. Accord- 
ingly, having sent Eumenes to the Hellespont to 
meet Antipater and Craterus, he set out on his march 
against Egypt at the head of a formidable army and 
accompanied by Philip Arrhidaeus and Roxana with 
her infant son. He advanced without opposition as 
far as Pelusium, but he found the banks of the Nile 
strongly fortified and guarded by Ptolemy, and he 
was repulsed with considerable loss in an attack upon 
a fortress near the river. A little later, attempting 
to cross the Nile in the neighborhood of Memphis, 



336 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXI 

he lost great numbers of men by the depth and ra- 
pidity of the current. Perdiccas had never been pop- 
ular with the soldiery, and these disasters completely 
alienated their affections. A conspiracy was formed 
against him, and some of his chief officers murdered 
him in his tent (321 B.C.). 

The death of Perdiccas was followed by a fresh 
distribution of the provinces of the empire. At a 
meeting held at Triparadisus, in Syria, in the year 
320 B.C., Antipater was declared regent, retaining the 
government of Macedonia and Greece ; Ptolemy was 
confirmed in the possession of Egypt ; Seleucus re- 
ceived the satrapy of Babylon ; while Antigonus re- 
tained his former provinces, and was declared general- 
in-chief in place of Perdiccas. Eumenes, the friend 
of Perdiccas, who had meanwhile defeated Craterus 
in a decisive battle which cost the latter his life, was 
condemned to death ; but he was not yet conquered 
and continued to maintain himself for some time sin- 
gle-handed. 

Polysperchon Regent: the Condemnation of Phocion (318 
B.C.).— Antipater did not long survive these events. 
He died in the year 319 B.C., at the advanced age of 
eighty, leaving Polysperchon, one of Alexander's old- 
est generals, regent ; much to the surprise and mor- 
tification of his son Cassander, who at this time held 
the secondary position of Chiliarch. Cassander was 
now bent on obtaining the regency ; but, seeing no 
hope of success in Macedonia, he went over to Asia 
to solicit the assistance of Antigonus. 

Polysperchon, on his side, sought to conciliate the 
friendship of the Grecian states by proclaiming them 
all free and independent, and by decreeing the aboli- 
tion of the oligarchies which had been set up by An- 



B.C. 318 THE DEATH OF PHOCION 337 

tipater. In order to enforce these measures, Poly- 
sperchon prepared to march into Greece, while his 
son Alexander was despatched beforehand with an 
army towards Athens, to compel the Macedonian gar- 
rison under the command of Nicanor to evacuate 
Munichia. Nicanor, however, refused to move with- 
out orders from Cassander, whose general he declared 
himself to be. Phocion was suspected of intriguing 
in favor of Nicanor, and, being deprived of his posi- 
tion as general, fled to Alexander, now encamped 
near Athens. Alexander sent Phocion to his father, 
who sent him back to Athens in chains, to be tried by 
the Athenian people. The theatre where his trial was 
to take place was soon full to overflowing. Phocion 
was assailed on every side by the clamors of his en- 
emies, which prevented his defence from being heard, 
and he was condemned to death by a show of hands. 
To the last he maintained his calm and dignified, but 
somewhat contemptuous, bearing. He died in 318 
B.C., being more than eighty years old. Nearly sixty 
years of his life had been spent in the service of the 
state, and his condemnation is one of the darkest 
blots upon the fair fame of Athens. As sincere a 
patriot as Demosthenes, Phocion differed from him 
in believing that the welfare of Athens was best in- 
sured, not by an uncertain and dangerous freedom, 
but by dependence upon the stronger government of 
Macedonia. The Athenians afterwards repented of 
their conduct towards Phocion. His bones were in- 
terred at the public expense and a bronze statue was 

erected to his memory. 

«/ 

Cassander becomes Master of Athens and of Macedonia 
(317-316 B.C.). — While Alexander was negotiating 
with Nicanor about the surrender of Munichia, Cas- 

22 



338 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXI 

sander arrived in Piraeus with a considerable army 
and fleet with which Antigonus had supplied him. 
Alexander and Polysperchon at length retired from 
Athens, and Cassander established an oligarchical 
government in the city under the presidency of De- 
metrius of Phalerum (317 B.C.). 

Polysperchon's ill-success had caused his enemies 
to despise him, but he was still supported in Mace- 
donia by Olympias, the mother of Alexander the 
Great. The first foe w T hom Olympias and Polysper- 
chon met was Eurydice, the wife of Philip Arrhidaeus, 
who gathered an army and marched against them. 
But her soldiers would not fight against Alexander's 
mother ; both Arrhidseus and Eurydice were captured 
and put to death. Cassander now appeared again in 
Macedonia and laid siege to Pydna. In this city 
Olympias had taken refuge, together with Roxana 
and her son, but after a blockade of some months it 
was obliged to surrender (316 B.C.). Olympias had 
stipulated that her life should be spared, but Cassan- 
der soon afterwards caused her to be put to death and 
kept Roxana and her son in custody in the citadel of 
Amphipolis. Shortly afterwards Cassander began 
the restoration of Thebes, in the twentieth year after 
its destruction by Alexander, a measure highly popu- 
lar with the Greeks. 

War in the East (315-311 B.C.): the Murder of Roxana 
and Alexander. — A new war now broke out in the East. 
Antigonus had become the most powerful of Alexan- 
der's successors. In 316 B.C. he had conquered Eu- 
menes, who had long defied his arms, and he now 
began to dispose of the provinces as he thought fit. 
His increasing power and ambitious projects led to a 
general coalition against him, consisting of Ptolemy, 



B.C. 311 THE MURDER OF ROXANA 339 

Seleucus, Cassander, and Lysimachus, the governor 
of Thrace. The war began in the year 315 B.C., and 
was carried on with great vehemence and alternating 
success in Syria, Phoenicia, Asia Minor, and Greece. 
After four years all parties seem to have become 
wearied with the struggle, and peace was accordingly 
concluded in 311 B.C., on condition that the Greek 
cities should be free, that Cassander should retain 
his authority in Europe till Alexander came of age, 
that Ptolemy and Lysimachus should keep possession 
of Egypt and Thrace respectively, and that Antig- 
on us should have the government of all Asia. This 
hollow peace, which had been merely patched up for 
the convenience of the parties concerned, was not of 
long duration. It seems to have been the immediate 
cause of another of those crimes which disgrace the 
history of Alexander's successors. His son Alexan- 
der, who was now about twelve years old, was still 
shut up with his mother, Roxana, in Amphipolis; and 
his partisans, with injudicious zeal, expressed their 
wish that he should be released and placed upon the 
throne. In order to avert this event, Cassander con- 
trived the secret murder both of the mother and the 
son. This abominable act seems to have met with 
general approval among the parties to the recent 
treaty. 

Athens Surrenders to Demetrius Poliorcetes (307 B.C.).— 
It is not clear on what pretence and at what time 
the peace was broken. In 310 B.C., however, the war 
was again in progress and Ptolemy was carrying on 
an active campaign against Antigonus in Cilicia. 
Ptolemy met with considerable success in various 
quarters, while Cassander and Lysimachus widened 
and strengthened their power in Greece and Thrace. 



340 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXI 

Under these circumstances, Antigonus resolved, after 
the war had lasted three years, to make a vigorous 
effort to wrest Greece from the hands of Cassander 
and Ptolemy, who held most of the principal towns 
in it. Accordingly, in the spring of 307 B.C., he de- 
spatched his son Demetrius from Ephesus to Athens 
with a fleet of 250 sail and 5000 talents in money. 
Demetrius, who afterwards obtained the name of 
"Poliorcetes," or " Besieger of Cities," was a young 
man of ardent temperament and great abilities. 
Upon arriving at the Piraeus he immediately pro- 
claimed the object of his expedition to be the lib- 
eration of Athens and the expulsion of the Macedo- 
nian garrison. Supported by the Macedonians, De- 
metrius the Phalerean had now ruled Athens for a 
period of ten years. A pupil of Theophrastus, he 
owed his elevation entirely to his own talents and 
perseverance. His skill as an orator raised him to 
distinction among his countrymen ; and his politics, 
which led him to embrace the party of Phocion, rec- 
ommended him to Cassander and the Macedonians. 
He cultivated many branches of literature, and was 
at once an historian, a philosopher, and a poet ; but 
none of his works have come down to us. The Athe- 
nians heard with pleasure the proclamations of the 
son of Antigonus ; his namesake, the Phalerean, was 
obliged to surrender the city to him, and to retire to 
Thebes. The Macedonian garrison in Munichia of- 
fered a slight resistance, which was soon overcome. 
Demetrius Poliorcetes then formally announced to 
the Athenian Assembly the restoration of their an- 
cient constitution, and promised them a large donation 
of corn and ship-timber. This munificence was repaid 
by the Athenians with the basest and most abject 



B.C. 306 ANTIGONUS INVADES EGYPT 341 

flattery. Both Demetrius and his father were deified, 
and two new tribes, called respectively Antigonis and 
Denietrias, were added to the existing ten which de- 
rived their names from the ancient heroes of Attica. 

The War between Antigonus and Ptolemy: the Siege of 
Rhodes (305-304 B.C.).— Demetrius Poliorcetes did not, 
however, remain long at Athens. He was recalled by 
his father, and, sailing to Cyprus, undertook the siege 
of Salamis. Ptolemy hastened to its relief with 140 
vessels and 10,000 troops. The battle that ensued was 
one of the most memorable in the annals of ancient 
naval warfare, more particularly on account of the 
vast size of the vessels engaged. Ptolemy was com- 
pletely defeated ; and so important was the victory 
deemed by Antigonus that on the strength of it he 
assumed the title of king, which he also conferred 
upon his son. This example was followed by Ptole- 
my, Seleucus, Lysimachus, and Cassander. 

Antigonus now determined to follow up the victo- 
ry which Demetrius had gained by invading Egypt. 
He met, however, with no better success than Per- 
diccas had achieved fifteen years before. Ptolemy 
again defended the western bank of the Xile ; and 
Antigonus, not receiving the support he had hoped 
for from Demetrius, retired to Syria without striking 
a blow. 

Demetrius soon afterwards undertook an expedi- 
tion against Rhodes, which had refused its aid in the 
attack upon Ptolemy. It was from the memorable 
siege of Rhodes that Demetrius obtained his name 
of "Poliorcetes." After in vain attempting to take 
the town from the sea side bv means of floating bat- 
teries, from which stones of great weight were hurled 
from engines against the w r alls, he determined to alter 



342 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXI 

his plan and invest it on the land side. He construct- 
ed a machine which, in anticipation of its effect, was 
called Helepolis, or "the city -taker." This was a 
square wooden tower, 150 feet high, and divided into 
nine stories, filled with armed men, who disci) arged 
missiles through apertures in one side. When armed 
and prepared for attack it required the strength of 
3400 men to set this enormous machine in motion. 
But though it was assisted by the operation of two 
battering-rams, each 180 feet long, and propelled by 
the labor of 1000 men, the Rhodians were so active 
in building inner lines of wall, with which to defend 
themselves when the outer were broken down, that 
after a year spent in the vain attempt to take the 
town, Demetrius retired and granted the Rhodians 
peace (304 B.C.). 

The Death of Antigonus: a Third Division of the Empire 

(301 B.C.) During the following years Demetrius 

succeeded in making himself master of a large part 
of Greece. The effect of these conquests, however, 
was more than neutralized by subsequent events in 
Asia. In 301 B.C. the struggle between Antigonus 
and his rivals was brought to a close by the battle 
of Ipsus, in Phrygia, in which Antigonus was killed 
and his army completely defeated. He was more 
than eighty years old at the time of his death. A 
third partition of the empire of Alexander was now 
made. Seleucus and Lysimachus, who had won the 
battle of Ipsus against Antigonus, shared between 
them his possessions. Seleucus received the lion's 
share. His empire now included all Asia as far 
west as Phrygia, with the exception of Cilicia ; Ly- 
simachus, as it seems, was forced to content him- 
self with the western provinces of Asia Minor. Se- 



B.C. 294 DEMETRIUS CAPTURES ATHENS 343 

leucus founded on the Orontes a new capital of his 
empire, which he named Antiocb, after his father 
Antiochus, and which long continued to be one of 
the most important Greek cities in Asia. 

Demetrius Ruler of Greece : his Death (284 B.C.) Deme- 
trius was now a fugitive, but not long after the bat- 
tle of Ipsus he was agreeably surprised by receiving 
an embassy from Seleucus, by whteh that monarch 
solicited his daughter Stratonice in marriage. De- 
metrius gladly granted the request, and at once set 
out for Syria with Stratonice. But the friendship 
between Seleucus and Demetrius lasted but a short 
time. After their alienation Demetrius returned to 
Greece, captured Eleusis, and proceeded against Ath- 
ens. The city capitulated after a long siege, and 
the bloodthirsty Lachares, who had established him- 
self as tyrant, was driven out (294 B.C.). 

Meanwhile Cassander had died shortly before the 
siege of Athens began, and was succeeded on the 
throne of Macedonia by his eldest son, Philip IV.* 
(297 b.c). But that young prince died after a reign 
of four months, and Cassander's second son, Antipa- 
ter, who succeeded him, became involved in a quar- 
rel with his younger brother, Alexander. Demetrius 
availed himself of the distracted state of Macedonia 
to make himself master of that country (294 b.c). 
He reigned over Macedonia and the greater part of 
Greece about six years. He seems to have aimed 
at recovering the whole of his father's dominions in 
Asia ; but before he was ready to take the field his 
adversaries, alarmed at his preparations, determined 
to forestall him. In the year 288 b.c. Ptolemy sent 

* Philip Arrhidaeus is called Philip III. 



344 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXI 

a powerful fleet against Greece, while Pyrrhus, king 
of Epirus, on the one side, and Lysimachus on the 
other simultaneously invaded Macedonia. Demetrius 
had completely alienated his own subjects by his 
proud and haughty bearing, and by his lavish ex- 
penditure on his own luxuries ; while Pyrrhus by his 
daring courage had become the hero of the Macedo- 
nians, who looked upon him as a second Alexander. 
The appearance of Pyrrhus was the signal for revolt ; 
the Macedonian troops flocked to his standard and 
Demetrius was compelled to fly. Pyrrhus now as- 
cended the throne of Macedonia, but his reign was of 
brief duration, and at the end of a few months he 
was in turn driven out by Lysimachus. Demetrius 
remained for a time in Greece and then set sail for 
Asia, where he successively endeavored to establish 
himself in the territories of Lysimachus and of his 
son-in-law Seleucus. Falling at length into the hands 
of the latter, he was kept in a kind of magnificent 
captivity in a royal residence in Syria, where in 284 
B.C., at the early age of fifty-three, his checkered ca- 
reer was brought to a close, partly by chagrin, and 
partly by the sensual indulgences with which he en- 
deavored to divert it. 

Seleucus, the Last of Alexander's Generals: his Empire.— 
The fall of Demetrius left the empire of Alexander 
in the hands of three powerful kings, Lysimachus, 
Seleucus, and Ptolemy. In Egypt the aged Ptol- 
emy abdicated in 285 B.C. in favor of his son by Ber- 
enice, afterwards known as Ptolemy Philadelphus, 
and to the exclusion of his eldest son, Ptolemy Ce- 
raunus, by his wife Eurydice. Ptolemy Ceraunus 
quitted Egypt in disgust and fled to the court of Ly- 
simachus ; and Arsinoe, the wife of Lysimachus, jeal- 



B.C. 281 THE DEATH OF LYSIMACHUS 345 

ous of her step-son Agathocles, the heir-apparent to 
the throne, and desirous of securing the succession 
for her own children, conspired with Ptolemy Cerau- 
nus against the life of Agathocles. She even pro- 
cured the consent of Lysimachus to his murder ; and, 
after some vain attempts to make away with him by 
poison, he was flung into prison, where Ptolemy Ce- 
raunus despatched him with his own hand. Lysandra, 
the wife of Agathocles, fled with her family to Se- 
leucus, to demand from him protection and ven- 
geance ; and Seleucus, induced by the hopes of suc- 
cess inspired by the discontent and dissensions which 
so foul an act had excited among the subjects of Ly- 
simachus, espoused her cause. The hostilities which 
ensued between him and Lysimachus were brought 
to a termination by the battle of Corupedion, in the 
Hellespontine Phrygia, in which Lysimachus was de- 
feated and slain (281 b.c). By this victory Macedo- 
nia and Thrace fell into the hands of Seleucus, who 
was now master of much the greater part of Alex- 
ander's empire. 

The Death of Seleucus: the Celtic Invasions (279-278 B.C.). 
— The aged monarch, who had not beheld his native 
land since he first joined the expedition of Alexan- 
der, now crossed the Hellespont to take possession of 
Macedonia. Ptolemy Ceraunus, who, before the bat- 
tle of Corupedion, had thrown himself on the mercy of 
Seleucus, and had been received with forgiveness and 
favor, accompanied him on his journey. The murder 
of Agathocles had not been committed by Ptolemy 
merely to oblige Arsinoe. He had even then designs 
upon the kingly power, which he now completed by 
another crime. In the neighborhood of Lysimachia, 
in Thrace, he treacherously assassinated Seleucus. 



3tf> HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXI 

After this base and cowardly act, Ptolemy Ceraunus, 
who gave himself out as the avenger of Lysima- 
chus, was saluted king by the army ; but the Asiatic 
dominions of Seleucus fell to his son Antiochus, sur- 
named Soter. The crime of Ptolemy, however, was 
speedily overtaken by a just punishment. In the 
year 279 b.c. his kingdom of Macedonia and Thrace 
was invaded by an immense host of Celts ; Ptolemy 
led an army against them, but was defeated, taken 
captive, and put to death. A second invasion of the 
same barbarians compelled the Greeks to raise a force 
for their defence (278 B.C.). The Grecian army under- 
took to defend Thermopylae ; but, just as in the time 
of Xerxes,, the barbarians forced the pass by sending 
a detachment over the mountain to attack the Greeks 
in the rear. The Celts now marched to Delphi with 
the view of plundering the famous temple ; but the 
god, it is said, vindicated his sanctuary on this occa- 
sion in the same supernatural manner as when it was 
attacked by the Persians. Having lost their leader 
Brennus, the Celts returned w 7 ith diminished numbers 
to Thrace. Nevertheless, some of them succeeded 
in establishing themselves near the Danube; while 
others passed over into Asia, and gave their name to 
the country called Galatia. 

Antigonus Gonatas Master of Macedonia and Greece (277- 
239 B.C.)-— After the death of Ptolemy Ceraunus Mace- 
donia fell for some time into a state of anarchy and 
confusion, and the crown was disputed by several poten- 
tates. At length, in 277 B.C., Antigonus Gonatas, son 
of Demetrius Poliorcetes, succeeded in establishing 
himself on the throne of Macedonia; and, with the ex- 
ception of two years (274-272 B.C.), during which he 
w r as temporarily expelled by Pyrrhus, he continued 



B.C. 272 THE DEATH OF PYRRHUS 347 

to retain possession of it till bis death in 239 B.C. 
The struggle between Antigonus and Pyrrhus was 
brought to a close at Argos in 272 b.c. Pyrrhus had 
marched into Peloponnesus with a large force in order 
to make war upon Sparta, but with the collateral de- 
sign of reducing the places which still held out for 
Antigonus. Having failed in an attempt to take 
Sparta, he marched against Argos, where Antigonus 
also arrived with his forces. Both armies entered 
the city by opposite gates; and in a battle which en- 
sued in the streets Pyrrhus was struck from his horse 
by a tile hurled by a woman from a house-top, and 
was then despatched by some soldiers of Antigonus. 
Such was the inglorious end of one of the bravest 
and most warlike monarchs of antiquity. 

By the death of Pyrrhus, Antigonus became mas- 
ter not only of Macedonia but of a large part of 
Greece as well. Not all the Greeks, however, were 
yet disposed to submit to the rule of a foreign prince. 
In 267 or 266 B.C. we find Athens and Sparta united 
in an alliance with Ptolemy Philadelphus of Eg\-pt 
against Antigonus. Elis, Achaia, and a few Arcadian 
towns also joined the league. Antigonus marched 
first against the Athenians ; Sparta sent out king 
Areus with an army to their assistance, while from 
Egypt came, a fleet under Patrocles. Areus, however, 
refused to offer battle to Antigonus, and finally led 
his troops back to Peloponnesus. The Egyptian 
fleet could now offer little aid to Athens, which was 
at length compelled to capitulate and receive a Mace- 
donian garrison. Areus was afterwards defeated and 
slain near Corinth. Thus the war ended about the 
year 258 b.c. 

The Achaean League: its Constitution and Growth. — While 



348 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXI 

a great part of Greece seemed hopelessly prostrate at 
the feet of Macedonia, a new political power, which 
sheds a lustre on the declining period of Grecian 
history, arose in a small state in Peloponnesus, the 
very name of which has been hitherto rarely men- 
tioned. In Achaia, a narrow strip of country upon 
the shores of the Corinthian Gulf, a league had exist- 
ed from a very early period among the twelve cities 
of the province. This league, however, had never 
possessed much political importance, and it had been 
suppressed by the Macedonians. At about the time 
when Antioronus Gonatas became kin or of Macedonia, 
the decline in the power of that country, consequent 
upon the Celtic invasions and the disputes between 
various aspirants to the throne, led to a revival of 
the ancient league in Achaia. One after another the 
Achaean towns, now ten in number, freed themselves 
from the Macedonians and began to unite again for 
mutual protection ; but Aratus of Sicyon, one of the 
most remarkable characters of this period of Grecian 
history, was the man who, in the year 251 B.C., first 
called the new league into active political existence. 
He had long lived in exile at Argos, while his native 
city groaned under the dominion of a succession of 
tyrants. Having collected a small band of slaves 
and mercenaries, he surprised Sicyon in the night 
and drove out the last of these tyrants. Instead 
of seizing the tyranny for himself, as he might per- 
haps have done, Aratus consulted only the advan- 
tage of his country, and with this view united Sicyon 
with the Achaean league. The accession of so impor- 
tant a town does not appear to have altered the con- 
stitution of the confederacy. The league was at this 
time governed by a Strategics, or general, whose func- 



B.C. 251-243 THE ACHAEAN LEAGUE 349 

tions were both military and civil ; a Grammateus, or 
secretary ; and a council of ten Damiorgi. The sover- 
eignty, however, resided in an Assembly, which met 
at fixed periods in Aegium, where the common sanct- 
uary of the league was located. This Assembly was 
composed of all Achoeans who possessed a certain 
property qualification, and it had the right of electing 
the officers of the league and of deciding questions 
of war, peace, foreign alliances, and the like. An 
offensive war, however, could only be undertaken 
with the sanction of a Greater Assembly, of which 
every Achaean who had attained the age of thirty 
was a member. In the year 245 b.c. Aratus was 
elected strategus of the league, and again in 243 b.c. 
In the latter of these years he succeeded in wresting 
Corinth from the Macedonians by another nocturnal 
surprise, and uniting it to the league. The confed- 
eracy now spread with wonderful rapidity. It was 
soon joined by Trcezen, Epidaurus, and Megara ; a 
little later iEgina, Argos, Phlius, Megalopolis, Tegea, 
and many other Peloponnesian towns became mem- 
bers of the league. On the other hand, Aratus was 
unsuccessful in his efforts to enrol Boeotia and Athens 
in the confederacy. With iEtolia, at that time one 
of the most powerful states in Greece, he concluded 
an alliance. 

The Fall of Sparta — Sparta still continued to retain 
her independence, but without a shadow of her for- 
mer greatness and power. The primitive simplicity 
of Spartan manners had been completely destroyed 
by the collection of wealth into a few hands and by 
the consequent progress of luxury. The number of 
Spartan citizens had been reduced to seven hundred ; 
but even of these there were not above one hundred 



350 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXI 

who still possessed lands. The young king, Agis IV., 
who succeeded to the crown in 243 B.C., attempted to 
revive the ancient Spartan virtue by restoring the in- 
stitutions of Lycurgus, increasing the number of the 
citizens, cancelling all debts, and making a new dis- 
tribution of lands; and with this view he relinquished 
all his own property for the public good. But Agis 
perished in this attempt, being put to death as a 
traitor to his order. A few years afterwards, how- 
ever, Cleomenes III. not only succeeded in effecting 
the reforms which had been contemplated by Agis, 
but was also able to overthrow the Ephors, thus still 
further weakening the power of the aristocracy. The 
effect of these new measures soon became visible in 
the increased success of the Spartan arms. Aratus 
w r as so hard pressed that he determined to solicit the 
assistance of the Macedonians. Both Antigonus Go- 
natas and his son Demetrius II. — who had reigned 
in Macedonia from 239 to 229 b.c. — were now dead, 
and the government was administered by Antigonus 
Doson, as guardian of Philip, the youthful son of De- 
metrius II. It was to Antigonus Doson that Aratus 
now applied for aid. The contest between Macedonia 
and the Achseans on one side and Sparta on the other 
was of short duration ; Cleomenes was defeated in 
the fatal battle of Sellasia, in Laconia (221 b.c). His 
army was almost totally annihilated ; he himself w T as 
obliged to fly to Egypt ; and Sparta, which for many 
centuries had remained unconquered, fell into the 
hands of the victor. 

The /Etolian League. — In the same or the following 
year Antigonus w T as succeeded by Philip V.,* the 

* The succession of Macedonian kinsjs from Alexander the Great 



B.C. 219 THE ^ETOLIAN LEAGUE 351 

son of Demetrius II., who was then about fifteen or 
sixteen years of age. During the first years of his 
reign he was occupied with a war against the iEto- 
lians. This people were a species of freebooters and 
the terror of their neighbors ; yet they were united, 
like the Achaeans,' in a confederacy or league. In its 
organization and government the iEtolian league was 
not unlike the Achaean. The Strategics, or general, 
and the Grammateus, or secretary, were charged with 
duties similar to those performed by the same officials 
in the Achaean league. The General Assembly of the 
league convened every autumn at Thermon to elect 
the strategus and other officers, and to decide the 
more important questions touching the welfare of 
the confederacy. The current business of the league 
was transacted by a permanent Council or Senate, 
acting in concert with the strategus. The iEtolians 
availed themselves of the disorganized state of Greece 



to the extinction of the monarchy will be seen from the following 
table : 

B.C. 

Philip III. Arrhidseus 323-317 

Cassander 316-297 

Philip IV 297-297 

Antipater 297-294 

Demetrius I. Poliorcetes 294-2S8 

Pyrrhus 288-287 

Lysimachus 287-281 

Seleucus 281-280 

Ptolemy Ceraunus and others 280-277 

Antigonus Gonatas 277-239 

Demetrius II 239-229 

Antigonus Doson, 229-220 

Philip V 220-179 

Perseus 179-168 



352 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXI 

during the first half of the third century B.C. to ex- 
tend their power. The league came to include cities 
and states outside iEtolia. The iEtolians, however, 
always endeavored to maintain their own supremacy 
over the other members of the confederacy, and it 
was in this respect especially that the iEtolian league 
differed from the Achrean. The iEtolians had gained 
possession of Naupactus and Delphi at an early pe- 
riod. In process of time Doris, Locris, Phocis, Boeo- 
tia, and various cities of Acarnania and Thessaly were 
enrolled in the league. Boeotia soon renounced its 
allegiance, but this loss was made good by gains in 
Peloponnesus. Here the iEtolians came into con- 
flict with the Achaean league, and were defeated by 
Aratus near Pellene. They succeeded, however, in 
forming alliances with the Eleans and Messenians, 
and in gaining the Arcadian city of Phigalia as a 
member of their league. 

The Social War (219-217 B.C.).— After the battle of 
Sellasia the Achseans, supported by Antigonus Doson, 
whose dependants they had virtually become, were 
able to win away from the iEtolians their Thessalian, 
Phocian, and Acarnanian allies. The iEtolians re- 
venged themselves by a series of predatory expedi- 
tions both in northern Greece and in Achaia and 
Messenia. Aratus marched to the assistance of the 
Messenians at the head of the Achaean forces, but 
was totally defeated in a battle near Caphyae, in Ar- 
cadia. The Achaeans now saw no hope of safety ex- 
cept through the assistance of Philip. That young 
monarch was ambitious and enterprising, and more- 
over possessed considerable military ability. He read- 
ily listened to the application of the Achaeans, and 
took the field against the JEtolians (219 B.C.). The 



B.C. 216 PHILIP V. AGAINST ROME 353 

war which ensued has been called the Social War, 
though the Achaeans took almost no part in it. 
Philip met with considerable success against the 
iEtolians, but concluded a treaty of peace with them 
in 217 B.C., in order that he might be free to under- 
take more ambitious conquests. 

Philip Y. in Alliance with Hannibal against Rome (216 
B.C.). — The great struggle now going on between 
Rome and Carthage was attracting the attention of 
the whole civilized world. In the year 217 B.C. Han- 
nibal had won his third great victory in the battle of • 
lake Trasimenus ; and Philip seems to have thought 
that the power of Macedonia might be employed with 
good effect against Rome. Accordingly he made an 
expedition against the Illyrian Scerdilaedas, an ally 
of the Romans, in which he met with considerable 
success. He even meditated an invasion of Italy, 
and with that view constructed a fleet with which he 
sailed against Apollonia (216 B.C.) ; but hearing of 
the approach of a Roman fleet, he was panic-stricken 
and returned to Macedonia. In the same year, after 
the battle of Canna?, he concluded a treaty with Han- 
nibal, which, among other clauses, provided that the 
Romans should not be allowed to retain their con- 
quests on the eastern side of the Adriatic. He made 
no attempt, however, to render Hannibal any assist- 
ance, but turned his attention to affairs in Pelopon- 
nesus. Here he pursued a most treacherous policy 
against the Messenians ; and when Aratus remon- 
strated with him respecting his proceedings, he got 
rid of his former friend and counsellor by means of 
a slow and secret poison (213 B.C.). 

Philopcemen, "the Last of the Greeks." — The Romans 
now begin to play a prominent part in the affairs of 

23 



354 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXI 

Greece. As soon as they were freed from immediate 
danger in the war with Hannibal (211 B.C.), they con- 
cluded an alliance with the iEtolians, the Spartans, 
and the Eleans, all enemies of Philip, whose hostility 
to Rome had not been forgiven. Philip still had the 
support of the Achseans, whose spirit was at this time 
revived by Philopoemen, one of the few noble char- 
acters of the period, who has been styled "the last 
of the Greeks." He was a native of Megalopolis, in 
Arcadia, and in 208 B.C. was elected strategus of 
the league. In this post Philopoemen made great 
alterations and improvements in the arms and disci- 
pline of the Achaean forces, which he assimilated to 
those of the Macedonian phalanx. These reforms, 
as well as the public spirit with which he had in- 
spired the Achseans, were attended with the most 
beneficial results. In 207 b.c. Philopoemen gained at 
Man tinea a signal victory over the Lacedaemonians ; 
4000 of them are said to have been left upon the 
field, and among them Machanidas, who had made 
himself tyrant of Sparta. This decisive battle, com- 
bined with the withdrawal of the Romans, who, be- 
ing desirous of turning their undivided attention 
towards Carthage, concluded peace with Philip (205 
B.C.), secured for a few years the tranquillity of 
Greece. It also raised the fame of Philopoemen to 
its highest point ; and at the next Nemean festival, 
being a second time general of the league, he was 
hailed by the assembled Greeks as the liberator of 
their country. 

War between Philip and the Romans : the Battle of Cynos- 
cephalae (197 B.C.). — Philip could not long remain 
quiet. He hated the Romans, but he stood in too 
great dread of Rome's power to undertake open hos- 



B.C. 197 PHILIP AND THE ROMANS 355 

tilities against her. He was so short-sighted, how- 
ever, as to begin an offensive war against the allies 
of Rome, not considering apparently what the final 
result must be. His attacks were mainly directed 
against Pergamum and Rhodes. Thereupon Attalus, 
king of Pergamum, betook himself to Athens and 
urged the Athenians to join an alliance with Perga- 
mum, Rhodes, and Rome against Philip (200 B.C.). 
Rhodian envoys seconded the appeal, while Roman 
ambassadors were also present. Athens was persuad- 
ed to declare war against Philip. But that king's 
eyes were not yet opened, and he made no attempt 
to avert the coming conflict. Both Attalus and the 
Romans sent troops to Greece, and Philip, who had 
made an attack upon Athens, was forced to retreat. 
For some time thereafter the war lingered on without 
any decided success on either side ; but in 198 b.c. 
the consul T. Quinctius Flamininus succeeded in gain- 
ing over the Achaean league to the Roman alliance ; 
and as the JEtolians were enemies of Philip, the rival 
leagues stood for a short time on the same side. In 
197 b.c. the struggle was brought to a termination by 
the battle of Cynoscephalse, near Scotussa, in Thes- 
saly, which decided the fate of the Macedonian mon- 
archy. Philip was obliged to sue for peace, and a 
treaty was ratified by which the Macedonians were 
compelled to renounce their supremacy in Greece, to 
withdraw their garrisons from the Grecian towns, to 
surrender all their ships of war except five, and to 
pay an indemnity of 1000 talents. At the ensuing 
Isthmian games (196 b.c.) Flamininus solemnly pro- 
claimed through a herald the freedom of those Greeks 
who had been subject to Philip, which was received by 
them with overwhelming joy and gratitude. 



356 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXI 

The Subjugation of the /Etolians (189 B.C.)-— The next 
monarch who tried his strength against the Romans 
in Greece was Antiochus III., king of Syria. He 
felt that Rome was encroaching on his rightful pos- 
sessions in the East, and when the ^Etolians, who 
claimed that they had received too small a share of 
the Macedonian booty, summoned him to assist them 
against the Romans, he was ready to grant their re- 
quest. He passed over into Greece w r ith a wholly 
inadequate force, and was defeated by the Romans 
at Thermopylae (191 B.C.). The iEtolians were now 
compelled to make head against the Romans b}^ them- 
selves. After some ineffectual attempts at resistance 
they were reduced to sue for peace, w r hich they at 
length obtained, on conditions as favorable as they 
could have hoped for (189 B.C.). They were required 
to acknowledge the supremacy of Rome, to renounce 
all claim to such cities as had been captured by Rome 
or had voluntarily embraced her friendship, to pay 
an indemnity of 500 talents, and to engage in future 
to aid the Romans in their wars. The power of the 
iEtolian league was thus forever crushed, though it 
seems to have existed, in name at least, till a much 
later period. 

Later History of the Achaean League. — The Achsean 
league still survived, though destined before long to 
experience the same fate as its rival. At first, indeed, 
it enjoyed the protection of the Romans, and even 
acquired an extension of members through their in- 
fluence, though this protectorate involved a state of 
virtual dependence upon Rome. Philopoemen also 
succeeded, in the year 192 B.C., in adding Sparta to the 
confederacy, and during the war between the ^Etoli- 
ans and the Romans, Elis and Messenia joined the 



B.C. 168 FALL OF THE MACEDONIAN EMPIRE 357 

league, which now embraced the whole of Pelopon- 
nesus. But Sparta having displayed symptoms of in- 
subordination, Philopoemen marched against it in 188 
b.c. and captured the city, whereupon he put to death 
eighty of the leading men, razed the walls and fortifi- 
cations, abolished the institutions of Lycurgus, and 
compelled the citizens to adopt the democratic con- 
stitution of the Achseans. Shortly afterwards the 
Messenians, under the leadership of Dinocrates, re- 
volted from the league (184 b.c). Philopoemen, who 
had now attained the age of seventy, led an expedi- 
tion against them ; but, having fallen from his horse 
in a skirmish of cavalry, he was captured, and con- 
veyed with many circumstances of ignominy to Mes- 
sene, where he was executed. His fate was avenged 
by Lycortas, the father of the historian Polybius, 
who succeeded him as general. 

The Fall of the Macedonian Empire (168 B.C.).— In 179 
b.c. Philip died, and was succeeded by his son Per- 
seus, the last monarch of Macedonia. The latter 
years of the reign of Philip had been spent in prepa- 
rations for a renewal of the war, which he foresaw to 
be inevitable ; yet a period of eight years elapsed 
after the accession of Perseus before the mutual en- 
mity of the two powers broke out into open hostili- 
ties. The war which at* length ensued was waged 
for three years without any decisive result, but was 
brought to a conclusion in 168 b.c. by the consul L. 
iEmilius Paullus, who defeated Perseus with great 
loss near Pydna. Perseus was carried to Rome to 
adorn the triumph of Paullus, and was permitted to 
spend the remainder of his life in a sort of honorable 
captivity at Alba. Such was the end of the Mace- 
donian empire, which was now divided into four dis- 



358 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXI 

tricts, each under the jurisdiction of its own magis- 
trates. 

The Roman commissioners deputed to arrange the 
affairs of Macedonia did not confine their attention 
to that province, but evinced their design of reduc- 
ing all Greece to a state, not indeed of subjection, 
but of quiet submission to the will of Rome. In 
these views they were assisted by many adherents of 
the Roman party in various states of Greece, and es- 
pecially by Callicrates, a man of great influence 
among the Achseans, who lent himself as the base 
tool of the Romans to effect the enslavement of his 
country. After the fall of Macedonia, Callicrates de- 
nounced more than a thousand Achseans, who were 
charged with having favored the cause of Perseus. 
These, among whom was Polybius the historian, were 
apprehended and sent to Rome for trial. Similar 
measures were taken in ^Etolia, Bceotia, Acarnania, 
and Epirus. The last-named country suffered the 
hardest fate ; in one day no fewer than seventy of 
its towns were abandoned by Paullus to his soldiers 
for pillage, and 150,000 persons are said to have been 
sold into slavery. 

The End of Grecian Independence (146 B.C.).— A second 
quarrel between the Achseans and Sparta afforded 
the Romans an opportunity for crushing the small 
remains of Grecian independence. 

The Spartans, feeling themselves incompetent to 
resist the Achseans, appealed to the Romans for as- 
sistance ; and in 147 b.c. Roman commissioners were 
sent to Greece to settle the dispute between the 
two states. These commissioners decided in favor of 
Sparta, granting to that city the wished-for privilege 
of withdrawing from the Achaean league. This deci- 



B.C. 146 THE FALL OF CORINTH 359 

sion occasioned serious riots at Corinth, one of the 
principal cities of the league. All the Spartans in 
the town were seized, and even the Roman commis- 
sioners narrowly escaped violence. On their return 
to Rome, a fresh embassy was despatched to settle 
the controversy. But the violent and impolitic con- 
duct of Critolaus, then strategus of the league, ren- 
dered all attempts at an adjustment fruitless, and 
precipitated war between Rome and the Achaeans. 
The cowardice and incompetence of Critolaus as a 
general were only equalled by his previous insolence. 
On the approach of the Romans under Metellus from 
Macedonia he did not even venture to make a stand 
at Thermopylae ; and being overtaken by them near 
Scarphea in Locris, he was totally defeated, and 
never again heard of. Diaeus, who succeeded him as 
strategus, displayed rather more energy and courage. 
But upon the arrival of the consul L. Mummius, 
Diaeus was overthrown in a battle near Corinth, and 
that city was immediately evacuated not only by the 
troops of the league, but also by the greater part of 
its inhabitants. On entering it Mummius put most 
of the few males who remained to the sword, sold 
the women and children as slaves, and, having car- 
ried away all its treasures, consigned the city to the 
flames (146 B.C.). Corinth was filled with master- 
pieces of ancient art, but Mummius was so insensi- 
ble to their excellence as to stipulate with those who 
contracted to convey them to Italy that if any were 
lost in the passage they should be replaced by others 
of equal value ! Mummius then employed himself 
in chastising such states as had offered resistance to 
the Roman arms, while ten commissioners were sent 
from Rome to settle the future condition of Greece. 



360 



HISTORY OF GREECE 



Chap. XXI 



Whether it was annexed to the Roman province of 
Macedonia, or remained nominally free, is a disputed 
question. At all events, it is clear that Greece was 
virtually subject to Rome from the time of the fall 
of Corinth. 




POSEIDON 
Coin of Macedonia 



CHAPTER XXII 

SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF GREEK LITERATURE FROM 
THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE REIGN OF ALEXANDER 
THE GREAT 

Principal Types in Poetry and Prose.— The thoughts and 
feelings of mankind find literary expression either in 
poetry or in prose. In both poetry and prose we dis- 
tinguish three principal types : in poetry, the epic, 
lyric, and dramatic ; in prose, the historical, orator- 
ical, and philosophical. All these various types were 
either created or developed to their highest perfec- 
tion by the Greeks. 

Epic Poetry : the Homeric Iliad and Odyssey.— The litera- 
ture of Greece begins with the two Homeric poems, 
the Iliad and the Odyssey. These poems were not, 
indeed, the first products of Greek literary genius. 
A literature does not open with finished masterpieces, 
but rather with short and rude sonors. There can be 

CD 

no doubt that such songs were composed and sung 
by Greek minstrels before the age which created the 
Iliad, but none of them have been preserved. For 
us, therefore, the Homeric poems are the oldest mon- 
uments of Greek literature. 

The Iliad and the Odyssey are epic poems — that is, 
narrative poems in hexameter verse. The general 
subject of the Iliad was the exploits of Achilles and 
of the other Grecian heroes before Ilium, or Troy ; 



362 



HISTORY OF GREECE 



Chap. XXII 



that of the Odyssey was the wanderings and advent- 
ures of Odysseus after the capture of Troy on his 
return to his native island. Throughout the flour- 
ishing period of Greek literature these works were 
universally regarded as the productions of a single 




IDEAL HEAD OF HOMER 



mind; but there was very little agreement respecting 
the place of the poet's birth, the details of his life, or 
the times in which he lived. Seven cities laid claim 
to Homer's birth, and many legends were current re- 
garding his parentage, his blindness, and his life of 



THE ILIAD AND ODYSSEY 363 

an itinerant bard acquainted with poverty and sorrow. 
It is now generally believed, on the ground of inter- 
nal evidence, that the Iliad is older than the Odyssey, 
and consequently that the two poems are not the work 
of the same creative genius. Further, most scholars 
agree that neither poem was composed in its entirety 
by one person. It is held that the Iliad, for example, 
was planned, and its most essential parts executed, 
by a single great poet, but that this primitive Iliad 
was developed to its present form by gradual addi- 
tions, which are to be ascribed to various bards. So 
the Odyssey, though probably more largely the work 
of one poet, received additions of the same sort. Per- 
haps it may be said that the name of Homer belongs 
to the author of the original Iliad, if to any one. 
Opinions differ very widely as to the probable date 
of the Iliad and the Odyssey. It is reasonable to sup- 
pose that both poems were practically complete in 
their present form as early as the eighth century B.C.; 
but various authorities place the composition of the 
original Iliad and the original Odyssey from one to 
three centuries earlier. 

The mode in which these poems were preserved 
has occasioned great controversy in modern times, 
and attempts have been made to show that a literary 
use of writing was impossible to the Greeks at the 
early period when the Iliad and the Odyssey began to 
be formed. This thesis is not now regarded as sus- 
ceptible of proof ; but, on the other hand, it is clear 
that the poems were long known to the Greeks, not 
through written copies, but through public recita- 
tion. The earlier bard sang lays of his own compo- 
sition at the houses of the great, accompanying him- 
self on the lyre. In the historical age the old bard 



364 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXII 

was in a manner represented by the public reciter, or 
" rhapsode." Probably the earlier rhapsodes were 
sometimes composers of epic, but in general the term 
was understood to refer to one who recited selections 
from the poems of others. It is known that the 
Homeric poems were thus publicly recited in various 
parts of Greece as early as the sixth century b.c. ; 
probably the custom was considerably older. At 
Athens, in accordance with a special ordinance, " Ho- 
mer " was recited at the Great Panathenaic festival, 
once in every four years. There is a late tradition 
that Pisistratus, the tyrant of Athens, was the first 
who collected the " poems of Homer." If this story 
is to be believed, it may with much probability be 
understood to mean that Pisistratus and his assistants 
put together and arranged in their proper order the 
rhapsodies or cantos which for generations had been 
recited as detached selections. 

Homer was to the Greeks their great national poet. 
The Homeric poems were studied in the schools and 
were the familiar possession of every educated man. 
They were a rich treasury of political maxims, moral 
teaching, religious ritual, and historical tradition. 
The Greeks of every state and age appealed to Homer 
as to an unquestioned authority. 

The Trojan Cycle.— The Iliad and the Odyssey were 
not the only Greek epics which had their origin in 
the story of Troy. The Iliad describes the events 
of only a few weeks in the last year of the siege of 
Troy, while the Odyssey follows the adventures of a 
single hero after the fall of that city. Consequently 
many legends of the heroes who fought before Troy 
were left untouched by the two great poems. Out 
of this material at least six other epics were con- 



HESIOD 365 

structed, which, together with the Iliad and the Od- 
yssey, made up what was called the Trojan cycle. 
The names and subjects of these later poems are 
known to us, but only scanty fragments of them have 
been preserved. 

Hesiod.— The Greeks looked upon Hesiod as their 
second great epic poet. It is mainly in their subject- 
matter that the works of Hesiod differ from the 
Homeric poems. The latter deal with an heroic 
past, with stories of war and adventure ; Hesiod is 
concerned with the soberer realities of life, the daily 
tasks of the husbandman, and with those moral and 
religious truths which he deemed an important part 
of human knowledge. In a word, the poetry of Hesiod 
moves not in the sphere of imagination, but of fact. 

Three works have come down to us bearing the 
name of Hesiod — the Works and Days, the Theog- 
ony, and the Shield of Heracles. The last of these 
three cannot be regarded as a genuine production 
of Hesiod. Our knowledge of the poet is derived 
chiefly from his own works. From these we learn 
that he was a native of Ascra, a village at the foot 
of Mount Helicon, to which his father had migrated 
from the iEolian Cyme in Asia Minor. He further 
tells us that he gained the prize at Chalcis in a poet- 
ical contest, and that he was robbed of a fair share 
of his heritage by the unrighteous decision of judges 
who had been bribed by his brother Perses. The lat- 
ter became afterwards reduced in circumstances, and 
applied to his brother for relief ; and it is to him 
that Hesiod addresses his didactic poem of the Works 
and Days, in which he lays down various maxims 
for the regulation of his conduct and his life. It 
contains an interesting representation of the feelings, 



366 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXII 

habits, and superstitions of the rural population of 
Greece in the earlier ages. The Theogony treats of 
the origin of the universe and the gods, and traces 
the genealogies of gods and heroes. Respecting the 
date of Hesiod nothing certain can be affirmed. He 
is placed in the ninth or eighth century b.c. 

Elegiac and Iambic Poetry.— Epic poetry in Greece was 
regularly composed in the Ionic dialect, even if the 
poet was an iEolian, as Hesiod, or a Dorian, as The- 
ocritus. Ionic was also the recognized dialect for 
elegiac and iambic poetry, which follow epic in the 
order of development. Elegiac is the name given to 
a species of verse in which dactylic hexameters and 
pentameters succeed one another in alternate lines. 
Elegiac poetry is eminently serious and reflective, 
but not passionate. It may deal w T ith a very great 
variety of subjects. Iambic verse was first used in 
satirical composition. The fundamental foot, the 
iambus, consists of a short followed by a long sylla- 
ble, and the most usual form in which the verse ap- 
pears is a line of six iambic feet, or three iambic 
measures (iambic trimeter). The early elegiac and 
iambic poets belonged to the seventh and sixth cen- 
turies b.c. Prominent among them were Tyrtaeus, 
Archilochus, Solon, and Theognis. 

Tyrtaeus.— The traditional history of Tyrtaeus and 
his warlike songs, which roused the fainting courage 
of the Spartans in the second Messenian war, have al- 
ready been referred to. His works were for the most 
part in elegiac verse, though he also composed march- 
ing-songs in an anapaestic meter (w~— ). 

Archilochus.— Archilochus was a native of the island 
of Paros, and flourished during the seventh century 
b.c. He composed songs of war and of mourning in 



SOLON— THEOGNIS— LYRIC POETRY 367 

elegiac verse ; but his fame rests chiefly on his terri- 
ble satires, written in the iambic meter, in which he 
gave vent to the bitterness of a disappointed man. 

Solon.— Solon, the law -giver of Athens, employed 
elegiac poetry as a means of moral teaching, and 
especially of political persuasion. It was by his 
inspiring verses that he roused the Athenians to 
attempt the conquest of Megara (600 B.C.). In his 
later years he reviews and defends in elegiac and 
iambic verse the reforms he had wrought. 

Theognis.— Theognis was the most famous of the 
elegiac poets, as was Archilochus among the writers 
of iambic verse. He was a Dorian noble of Megara, 
and lived at a time (about 540 B.C.) when the com- 
mon people were endeavoring to assert themselves 
against the aristocracy. He was, in fact, driven from 
his native country by a democratic revolution. Bit- 
terly hostile to the rule of the many and despising 
the rude peasants and shepherds who would over- 
throw the nobility, Theognis makes his poems a 
vehicle for the expression of his political views. 
They also contain many wise maxims and bits of 
practical philosophy. About 1400 lines of Theognis 
have come down to us, while only scattered frag- 
ments are preserved of the works of Tyrtseus, Ar- 
chilochus, and Solon. 

Lyric Poetry.— Elegiac and iambic poetry may be 
regarded as marking an intermediate stage between 
epic and lyric, partaking in some measure of the 
characteristics of both ; and the rise of lyric poetry 
in Greece follows closely upon that of elegiac and 
iambic composition. Lyric poetry is poetry that 
may be sung to music ; with the Greeks the musical 
accompaniment was never wanting. Greek lyric 



368 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXII 

poetry belongs to the JEolic and Doric dialects, as 
epic belongs to the Ionic. Choral lyric poetry, which 
found its expression in solemn hymns to the gods 
and in the songs that dignified public festivals, was 
the creation of the Dorians ; on the other hand, the 
passionate song of love or war was iEolian. Greek 
lyric poetry, with the exception of that of Pindar, 
has almost entirely perished, and all that we possess 
of it consists of a few songs and isolated fragments. 

Alcaeus and Sappho.— Alcaeus and Sappho were both 
natives of Mytilene, in the iEolian island of Lesbos, 
and flourished about 610-580 B.C. Their songs, which 
were composed for a single voice, are the most melo- 
dious creations of Greek literature. They are the 
warm outpouring of the writers' inmost feelings, and 
present the lyric poetry of the JEolians at its high- 
est point. 

Alcaeus took an active part in the civil dissensions 
of his native state, and warmly espoused the cause 
of the aristocratic party, to which he belonged by 
birth. He lived for a time in exile, but spent the 
latter days of his life in Lesbos. He wrote hymns 
to the gods, songs of war and love, and drinking- 
songs. 

Of the events of Sappho's life we have scarcely 
any information ; and the common story that, being 
in love with Phaon, and finding her love unrequited, 
she leaped down from the Leucadian rock, seems to 
have been an invention of later times. Two lines of 
Alcaeus which are preserved to us are addressed to 
Sappho, and connect closely the names of the two 
great singers of Lesbos. Sappho's poems are incom- 
parable in their melody and in their tenderness and 
depth of feeling. 



ANACREON— ALCMAN— ARION 369 

Anacreon.— Anacreon was a native of the Ionian city 
of Teos. He spent part of his life at Samos under 
the patronage of Polycrates ; and after the death of 
that tyrant he went to Athens at the invitation of 
Hipparchus. The odes of Anacreon celebrate in 
graceful verse the sensuous joys of life — love, song, 
and wine. The poet himself, in youth and old age, 
loved the pleasures of which he sang. 

Alcman.— Alcman was the first to develop the choral 
lyric song, which, as we have seen, belonged especial- 
ly to the Dorians. He was a native of Sardis in 
Lydia, and is said to have been brought to Sparta as 
a slave. He was afterwards emancipated, but con- 
tinued to live in Sparta, and chose the Dorian dialect 
of Laconia for his poems. His works include hymns, 
paeans, songs of love, and especially processional and 
choral songs. He lived in the seventh century B.C. 

Arion. — Arion was a native of Methymna in Lesbos, 
though as a lyric poet he belongs to the Dorian 
school. He lived some time at the court of Perian- 
der, tyrant of Corinth, who began to reign in 625 B.C. 
Nothing is known of his life beyond the beautiful 
story of his escape from the sailors with whom he 
sailed from Tarentum to Corinth. On one occasion, 
^as Herodotus tells the story, Arion went to Sicily 
and Italy to take part in musical contests. Crowned 
with success and laden with prizes, he embarked in 
a Corinthian ship to return to his friend Periander. 
The rude sailors coveted his treasure, and meditated 
his murder. After imploring them in vain to spare 
his life, he obtained permission to play for the last 
time on his beloved lyre. In festal attire, he placed 
himself on the deck of the vessel, sang a solemn 
hymn, and then threw himself into the sea. But a 

21 



370 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXII 

song-loving dolphin took the bard on its back and 
carried him to Taenarum, whence he returned to 
Corinth in safety, and related his adventure to Peri- 
ander. Upon the arrival of the Corinthian vessel, 
Periander inquired of the sailors after Arion. They 
replied that he had remained behind at Tarentum ; 
but when Arion came forward, the sailors could but 
own their guilt. The great improvement in lyric 
poetry ascribed to Arion is the invention of the 
dithyramb. This was a choral song and dance in 
honor of the god Dionysus, and is of great interest 
in the history of poetry, since it was the germ from 
which sprang at a later time the magnificent produc- 
tions of the tragic muse at Athens. 

Simonides.— Simonides, of the island of Ceos, was 
born in 556 B.C., and reached a great age. He lived 
many years at Athens, both at the court of Hippar- 
chus, together with Anacreon, and subsequently under 
the democracy during the Persian wars. The strug- 
gles of Greece for her independence furnished him 
with a noble subject for his muse. He carried away 
the prize from ^Eschylus with an elegy upon the 
warriors who had fallen at the battle of Marathon. 
Subsequently we find him celebrating the heroes of 
Thermopylae, Artemisium, Salamis, and Plataea. He 
was eighty years old when his long poetical career at 
Athens w r as closed by the victory which he gained 
with the dithyrambic chorus in 476 B.C., making the 
fifty-sixth prize that he had carried off. Shortly after 
this event he went to Syracuse, at the invitation of 
Hieron. Here he probably spent the remaining years 
of his life. He is best known by his elegiac and 
dithyrambic poems and by his dirges. 

Pindar.— Pindar, the greatest of Greek lyric poets, 



PINDAR 371 

was a contemporary of Simonides, but considera- 
bly younger. He was born in the neighborhood of 
Thebes in Boeotia, about the year 522 B.C. Many 
poetic stories gathered about the life of Pindar. 
Thus it is related that bees distilled honey upon his 
lips while as a boy he lay asleep upon Mount Heli- 
con. His talent, however, was not all inspiration, 
for we know the names of several teachers under 
whom he studied music and the details of the art of 
the lyric poet. He began his professional career at 
an early age, and soon acquired so great a reputation 
that he was employed by various states and princes 
of the Hellenic race to compose choral songs. He 
was courted especially by the Sicilian princes, Hieron 
of Syracuse and Theron of Agrigentum. The esti- 
mation in which Pindar was held is also shown by 
the honors conferred upon him by the free states of 
Greece. Although a Theban, he was always a great 
favorite with the Athenians. On one occasion, when 
he had bestowed a distinguished tribute of praise 
upon their city, the Athenians testified their gratitude 
by making him their public guest, and by giving him 
10,000 drachmas. That Pindar's fame lived after 
his death is proved by the well-known story that 
Alexander the Great spared the house of the poet 
when he destroyed the rest of Thebes. The only 
poems of Pindar which have come down to us entire 
are his JSpinicia, or triumphal odes, composed in com- 
memoration of victories gained in the great public 
games. But these were only a portion of his works. 
He also wrote hymns, paeans, dithyrambs, odes for 
processions, choral songs for maidens, choral dancing- 
songs, drinking-songs, dirges, and encomia or lauda- 
tory odes. 



372 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXII 

Dramatic Poetry.— We come now to the third great 
type of poetry, the dramatic. Dramatic poetry came 
into existence after epic and lyric, in obedience to a 
natural law of development ; for Greek drama com- 
bined in a complex and artistic form the elements of 
both epic and lyric poetry. 

The Origin of Tragedy and Comedy : the Satyr-Play.— The 
drama pre-eminently distinguished Athenian liter- 
ature. But, though it was brought to perfection 
among the Athenians, the first rude performances in 
which we find the origin of drama were Dorian. 
The drama arose out of the worship of Dionysus. 
This worship had both a serious and a sportive side. 
On the one hand, Dionysus was the god of wine and 
good cheer. When the vintage season was past, the 
feast which was celebrated in honor of the god was 
a scene of jest and merry-making. On the other hand, 
the Greek legends pictured Dionysus as a god who 
had known sorrow. They described his wanderings 
over the earth, his adventures, and his sufferings ; and 
on the day sacred to the god the gathered crowd lis- 
tened to a choral song which portrayed what Diony- 
sus had achieved and endured. Here, then, we have 
the origin of both tragedy and comedy. Traged}^ (rpa- 
ywS/a) means strictly the hymn sung by a chorus clad 
in goat-skins. By this disguise the chorus sought to 
liken themselves to the legendary attendants of Diony- 
sus, the satyrs, and so to bring themselves closer to 
the god. On the other hand, comedy (KwfiwSia) is the 
song of the festal procession in honor of Dionysus. 

The sacred hymn to Dionysus was not drama, but 
rather a devotional service in which all the assembled 
worshippers probably took part. As the song became 
more artistic and the dance which accompanied it 



THE ORIGIN OF TRAGEDY 373 

more complicated, both came naturally to be executed 
by a few who were especially skilful and who were 
trained for the occasion. Hence arose the dithyramb 
and the dithyrambic chorus. Arion, to whom, as we 
have seen, the invention of the dithyramb was as- 
cribed, probably did nothing more than to give it a 
more perfect artistic form. The dithyrambic chorus 
regularly consisted of fifty persons. As distinguished 
from the later chorus of tragedy, it is called a cyclic 
chorus, because its members grouped themselves in a 
circle about the altar of Dionysus. The leader of the 
chorus related episodes from the life of Dionysus, 
and the chorus gave expression to the feelings which 
the recital aroused in them. It will be readily seen 
that it is but a short step from a performance of this 
kind to actual drama ; and, in fact, the ancient phi- 
losopher and critic Aristotle finds the origin of 
tragedy in the dithyramb. 

We do not know certainly at what time and by 
whom the important step was taken which led to 
tragedy. The ancients, however, ascribed the credit 
of this innovation to Thespis, who is therefore known 
as the founder of tragedy. Thespis was a native of 
the Attic village of Icaria, and is said to have pre- 
sented his first tragedy in the year 536 b.c. We may 
reasonably suppose that the change which he intro- 
duced consisted in separating the chorus-leader en- 
tirely from the chorus, and making him impersonate 
some character. For in impersonation lies the essence 
of drama, and in the impersonator we have the first 
real actor. The tragedies of Thespis still consisted, 
for the most part, of choral songs, but these were now 
interspersed with dialogue between the single actor 
and a newly appointed chorus-leader. 



374 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXII 

Comedy is said to have been brought to Attica in 
the early part of the sixth century B.C. by Susarion 
of Megara. We have already found its origin in the 
merry-making of the Dionysiac festival, where rude 
banter and practical joking played an important part. 
It seems to have been at Syracuse that comedy first 
received an artistic form. Probably no performances 
which deserve the name of comedy took place in 
Athens until after the Persian wars. Then comedy 
assumed a place beside its elder sister, tragedy. Along 
with tragedy and comedy there existed at Athens a 
third species of drama, the so-called satyr-play, which 
derived its name from the fact that the persons who 
made up the chorus were disguised as satyrs. The 
satyr-play may be regarded as a concession to the 
spirit of the early Dionysiac celebrations. We have 
seen that the original Dionysiac chorus represented 
these attendants of the god ; when, however, tragedy 
became more refined and more fully developed, the 
grotesque garb of the satyr -chorus was discarded. 
But the older and ruder choral celebration was per- 
petuated in the satyr-play, which now took on an ar- 
tistic form of its own. It may be defined as a bur- 
lesque of tragedy — that is, a species of play in which 
the ordinary subjects of tragedy were treated in a 
lively and farcical manner. 

Differences between Ancient and Modern Tragedy.— Before 
taking up the further history of Greek drama, we 
have to consider some important external differences 
between ancient and modern tragedy. First, the 
subjects of Greek tragedy were taken, with few 
exceptions, from the national mythology. Tragedy 
never entirely lost its original character as a religious 
ceremonial, although at an early period it began to 



ANCIENT AND MODERN TRAGEDY 375 

deal with other myths besides those about Dionysus. 
Since the tragic poets derived their materials from 
such a source, the plot and story represented were in 
almost all cases known to the spectators, a circum- 
stance which strongly distinguishes the ancient trag- 
edy from the modern. Second, the part played by 
the chorus is a distinctive feature of Greek tragedy. 
Poetry, music, and dancing were more thoroughly 
kindred arts to the Greeks than to us ; and so, besides 
the added epic element of the dialogue, Greek tragedy 
still retained the lyric element in its choral odes. 
Third, it early became customary to exhibit dramas 
in tetralogies, or sets of four — namely, a tragic tril- 
ogy, or series of three tragedies, followed by a satyr- 
play. These tragedies were originally on connected 
subjects ; and the satyr-play at the end served as a 
merry after-piece to relieve the minds of the specta- 
tors. Fourth, tragedies were not presented every day, 
but only at certain fixed intervals, at the festivals of 
Dionysus, of which they formed one of the greatest 
attractions. During the whole day the Athenian pub- 
lic sat in the theatre witnessing tragedy after trag- 
edy ; and a prize was awarded, by judges appointed 
for the purpose, to the poet who produced the best 
set of dramas. 

The internal differences of literary form and con- 
tent, which are no less important than the external, 
can only be appreciated by a study of the dramas 
themselves. 

Early Athenian Dramatists.— We return at length to 
Thespis, the reputed founder of Greek tragedy. He 
was followed by Choerilus, Phrynichus, and Pratinas, 
all of whom lived in the latter part of the sixth and 
the early part of the fifth century b.c. Of these 



376 



HISTORY OF GREECE 



Chap. XXII 



three Phrynichus seems to have been the most famous. 
Pratinas, a Dorian of Phlius, who lived, however, at 
Athens, is best known as the poet who developed in 
a high degree the satyr-play. 

yEschylus.— All these early tragedians are far out- 
ranked by iEschylus, who, from the great improve- 
ments which he introduced in traged}^ was regarded 
by the Athenians as its father or founder. JEschylus 

was born at Eleusis in 
Attica in 525 B.C., and 
was thus contempora- 
ry with Simonides and 
Pindar. He fought at 
the battle of Marathon, 
and also at that of 
Salamis and of Platsea. 
In 485 B.C. he gained 
his first tragic prize. 
In 468 b.c. he was de- 
feated in a tragic con- 
test by his younger 
rival, Sophocles. He 
died at Gela, in Sicily, 
in 456 B.C., in the sixty- 
ninth year of his age. 
Tradition relates that 
an eagle, mistaking the poet's bald head for a stone, 
let a tortoise fall upomit in order to break the shell, 
thus fulfilling an oracle which predicted that he was 
to die by a blow from heaven. The improvements 
introduced into tragedy by iEschvlus concerned both 
its form and composition, and its manner of repre- 
sentation. In the former his principal innovation 
was the introduction of a second actor : whence 




^SCHYLUS 



SOPHOCLES 377 

arose the dialogue, properly so called, and the limita- 
tion of the choral parts, which now became subsidiary. 
He seems also to have been the first to employ a tem- 
porary structure to represent the scene of the action. 
He furnished the actors with more appropriate and 
more magnificent dresses, invented for them more 
various and expressive masks, and raised their stat- 
ure by providing them with thick-soled cothurni, or 
buskins. ^Eschylus excels in representing the super- 
human, in depicting demigods and heroes, and in trac- 
ing the irresistible march of fate. His style resem- 
bles the ideas which it clothes ; it is bold, sublime, 
and full of gorgeous imagery, but sometimes borders 
on the turgid. Seven of his tragedies are preserved. 
Sophocles.— Sophocles, the younger rival and imme- 
diate successor of iEschylus in the tragic art, was born 
at Colonus, a village rather more than a mile from 
Athens, about 496 B.C. We have already referred 
to his wresting the tragic prize from iEschylus 
in 468 B.C., from which time he seems to have re- 
tained the almost undisputed possession of the Athe- 
nian stage, until a young but formidable rival arose 
in the person of Euripides. There is a story that the 
close of his life was troubled with family dissensions. 
Iophon, his son by an Athenian wife, and therefore 
his legitimate heir, was jealous of the affection mani- 
fested by his father for his grandson Sophocles, the 
offspring of another son, Ariston, whom he had had 
by a Sicyonian woman. Fearing lest his father should 
bestow a great part of his property upon his favorite, 
Iophon summoned him before the phratores, or clans- 
men, on the ground that his mind was affected. The 
old man's only reply was, " If I am Sophocles, I am 
not beside myself ; and if I am beside myself, I am 



378 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXU 

not Sophocles." Then taking up his (Edipus at Colo- 
nns, which he was then engaged in composing, but 
had not yet brought out, he read from it a beautiful 
passage, with which the judges were so struck that 
they at once dismissed the case. He died shortly 
afterwards, in 406 b.c, at the age of ninety. As a 
poet Sophocles is universally allowed to have brought 
the drama to the greatest perfection of which it is 
susceptible. His plays stand in the just medium be- 
tween the sublime but unregulated flights of iEs- 
chylus and the too familiar scenes and rhetorical dec- 
lamations of Euripides. His plots are worked up 
with more skill and care than the plots of either of 
his great rivals. Sophocles added the last improve- 
ment to the form of the drama by the introduction 
of a third actor — a change which greatly enlarged the 
scope of the action. The improvement was so obvi- 
ous that it was adopted by ^Eschylus in his later 
plays ; but the number of three actors seems to have 
been exceeded in only a very few cases. Sophocles 
wrote upwards of one hundred plays, but only seven 
of them are now extant. 

Euripides.— Euripides was born in 480 b.c, sixteen 
years after Sophocles. He studied the philosophy 
and rhetoric of Anaxagoras, Protagoras, and Prodi- 
cus, and he was also a friend of Socrates. In 441 b.c. 
he gained his first prize, and he continued to exhibit 
plays until 408 b.c, the date of his Orestes. He is 
said to have been the author of ninety-two dramas, of 
which nineteen — one of them a satyr-play — have come 
down to us. He spent the last years of his life at the 
Macedonian court, whither he had gone at {he in- 
vitation of king Archelaus. It was here that he died 
at the age of seventy-four (406 b.c). Common re- 



EURIPIDES 



379 






port relates that he was torn to pieces by the king's 
dogs. In treating his characters and subjects Eurip- 
ides often arbitrarily 
departed from the re- 
ceived legends, and 
diminished the dig- 
nity of tragedy by 
depriving it of its 
ideal character and 
by bringing it down 
to the level of every- 
day life. His dia- 
logue w r as garrulous 
and colloquial, want- 
ing in heroic digni- 
ty, and frequently 
frigid through mis- 
placed philosophical 
disquisitions. Yet in 
spite of all these 
faults Euripides has 
many beauties, and 
is particularly re- 
markable for pathos, 
so that Aristotle 
calls him "the most 
tragic of poets." 

The Old, Middle, and New Comedy: Aristophanes and Me- 
nander.— Comedy received its full development at 
Athens from Cratinus, who lived in the age of Peri- 
cles. Cratinus and his younger contemporaries, Eu- 
polis and Aristophanes, were the three great poets 
of what is called the Old Attic Comedy. The come- 
dies of Cratinus and Eupolis are lost ; but of Aris- 




EURIPIDES 



380 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXII 

tophanes, who was the greatest of the three, we have 
eleven dramas extant. Aristophanes was born about 
450 B.C. Of his life we know almost nothing. He 
exhibited his first comedy in 427 B.C., and from that 
time till near his death, which probably happened 
about 385 B.C., he was a frequent and most successful 
contributor to the Attic stage. 

The function of Old Comedy at Athens has been 
compared to that of the Censors at Rome. Many 
of the comedians, especially Aristophanes, seem to 
have sought with all honesty to advance the weal of 
Athens by attacking current abuses and the incapable, 
often corrupt, demagogues w T ho exerted so baneful an 
influence over the Athenians. But they were no re- 
specters of persons. Public characters were intro- 
duced upon the stage under their real names, and 
Pericles and Socrates were held up to ridicule as well 
as Cleon ; while to attain its ends, old comedy not 
only employed bitter satire and the boldest carica- 
ture, but directed against individual citizens the most 
unsparing abuse. Towards the end of the career of 
Aristophanes the unrestricted license and libellous 
personality of comedy began gradually to be sup- 
pressed. This was a blow at the very life of old com- 
edy. On the other hand, the disastrous result of the 
Peloponnesian war had left the Athenians too poor 
to undertake willingly the expense of equipping and 
training choruses ; so the choral element finally dis- 
appears. These two important changes prepared the 
way for Middle Comedy, which was characterized 
by veiled attacks, and those rather upon classes and 
pursuits than upon individuals, and by a fondness 
for parody. Middle comedy was, in fact, only a con- 
necting link between the old comedy and the new, 



PHILEMON AND MENANDER 381 

or the comedy of manners. The New Comedy arose 
after Athens had become subject to the Macedonians. 
Politics were now excluded from the stage, and the 
materials of the dramatic poet were derived entirely 
from the fictitious adventures of persons in private 
life. The two most distinguished writers of this 
school were Philemon and Menander. Philemon was 
probably born about the year 360 B.C., and was either 
a Cilician or Syracusan, but came at an early age to 
Athens. He is considered as the founder of the new 
comedy, which was soon afterwards brought to per- 
fection by his younger contemporary Menander. The 
latter was an Athenian, who was born in 342 B.C. and 
lived to be fifty-one years old. He wrote upwards 
of one hundred comedies, of which only fragments 
remain ; and the unanimous praise of posterity awak- 
ens our regret for the loss of one of the most ele- 
gant writers of antiquity. The comedies, indeed, of 
Plautus and Terence may give us a general notion 
of the new comedy of the Greeks, from which they 
were confessedly drawn ; but there is reason to sup- 
pose that the works even of the latter Roman writer 
fell far short of the wit and elegance of Menander. 

History : Herodotus.— We turn now to prose literature, 
to history, oratory, and philosophy. The Greeks had 
reached a high stage of civilization before they can 
be said to have possessed a history. The first essays 
in literary prose cannot be placed earlier than the 
sixth century B.C. ; but the first writer who deserves 
the name of an historian is Herodotus, hence called 
the Father of History. Herodotus was born in the 
Dorian colony of Halicarnassus in Caria, about the 
year 484 B.C., and accordingly about the time of the 
Persian expeditions against Greece. He resided some 



382 HISTORY OF 'GREECE Chap. XXII 

years in Samos, and also undertook extensive travels, 
of which he speaks in his work. There was scarcely 
a town in Greece or on the coasts of Asia Minor with 
which he was not acquainted ; he had explored Thrace 
and the coasts of the Black Sea ; in Egypt he had 
penetrated as far south as Elephantine ; and in Asia 
he had visited the cities of Babylon, Ecbatana, and 
Susa. The latter part of his life was spent at Thurii, 
a colony in Italy founded by the Athenians in 445 
B.C. According to a well-known story in Lucian, 
Herodotus, when he had completed his work, recited 
it publicly at the great Olympic festival, as the best 
means of procuring for it that celebrity to which he 
felt that it was entitled. The effect is described as 
immediate and complete. The delighted audience at 
once assigned the names of the nine Muses to the 
nine books into which the history is divided. A still 
later author (Suidas) adds that Thucydides, then a 
boy, was present at the festival with his father, Olo- 
rus, and was so affected by the recital as to shed 
tears ; upon which Herodotus congratulated Olorus 
on having a son who possessed so early such a zeal 
for knowledge. But there are many objections to 
the probability of these tales. 

Herodotus interwove into his history all the varied 
and extensive knowledge acquired in his travels and 
by his own personal researches. But the real sub- 
ject of the work is the conflict between the Greek 
race, in the widest sense of the term and including 
the Greeks of Asia Minor, with the Asiatics. Thus 
the historian had a vast epic subject presented to him, 
which was brought to a natural and glorious termi- 
nation by the defeat of the Persians in their attempts 
upon Greece. The work concludes with the reduc- 



THUCYDIDES 383 

tion of Sestus by the Athenians in 478 b.c. Herod- 
otus wrote in the Ionic dialect, and his style is 
marked by an ease and simplicity which lend it an 
indescribable charm. 

Thucydides.— Thucydides, the greatest of the Greek 
historians, was an Athenian, and was probably born 
about the year 455 B.C. His family was connected 
with that of Miltiades and Cimon. He possessed 
gold-mines in Thrace, and enjoyed great influence in 
that country. He commanded an Athenian squad- 
ron of seven ships at Thasos, in 424 B.C., at the time 
when Brasidas was besieging Amphipolis ; and hav- 
ing failed to relieve that city in time, he was sen- 
tenced to banishment. He spent twenty years in 
exile, principally in places under the dominion or 
influence of Sparta. He probably returned to Ath- 
ens in 403 B.C., the date of its liberation by Thra- 
sybulus. According to the unanimous testimony of 
antiquity, he met with a violent end, and it seems 
probable that he was assassinated in Thrace. His 
ashes were brought to Athens for burial. 

From the beginning of the Peloponnesian war 
Thucydides had intended to write its history, and he 
employed himself in collecting materials for that 
purpose during the continuance of the struggle. It 
is not certain, however, that any part of his work was 
actually composed until after the close of the war, 
though some authorities believe that the earlier books 
were written during the period immediately follow- 
ing the Peace of Nicias. Thucydides was, no doubt, 
engaged upon the history at the time of his death. 
The first of the eight books into which the work is 
divided is introductory, dealing with the earliest his- 
tory of Greece, the growth of the Athenian empire 



384 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXII 

after the Persian wars, and the causes of the Pelo- 
ponnesian war. The remaining seven books are tilled 
with the details of the war, related according to the 
division into summers and winters, into which all 
campaigns naturally fall ; and the work breaks off 
abruptly in the middle of the twenty-first year of 
the war (411 B.C.). The materials of Thucydides 
were collected with the most scrupulous care ; the 
events are related with the strictest impartiality ; un- 
derlying causes and motives are carefully sought 
out ; and the work probably offers a more exact ac- 
count of a long and eventful period than any other 
history, whether ancient or modern, of an equally 
long and important era. The style of Thucydides is 
brief and sententious, and, whether in moral or politi- 
cal reasoning or in description, gains wonderful force 
from its condensation. But this characteristic is some- 
times carried to a faulty extent, so as to render his 
style harsh and his meaning obscure. 

Xenophon.— Xenophon, the son of Gryllus, was also 
an Athenian, and was probably born not long before 
430 b.c. He was a disciple of Socrates, by whose 
teachings his whole life was influenced. His accom- 
panying Cyrus the younger in his expedition against 
his brother Artaxerxes, king of Persia, formed a strik- 
ing episode in his life, and has been recorded by 
himself in his A?iabasis. He was still in Asia at the 
time of the death of Socrates in 399 b.c, and was 
probably banished from Athens soon after that period, 
in consequence of his close connection with the Lace- 
daemonians. He accompanied Agesilaus, the Spartan 
king, on the return of the latter from Asia to Greece ; 
and he fought along with the Lacedaemonians against 
his own countrymen at the battle of Coronea in 394 



XENOPHON 385 

b.c. After this battle he went with Agesilaus to 
Sparta, and soon afterwards settled at Scillus in Elis, 
near Olympia. He was nearly eighty years old at the 
time of his death. 

Probably all the works of Xenophon are still ex- 
tant. The Anabasis is the work on which his fame 
as an historian chiefly rests. It is written in a simple 
and agreeable style, and displays much descriptive 
and dramatic power. The Hellenica is a continua- 
tion of the history of Thucydides, and comprehends in 
seven books a space of about forty -nine years — name- 
ly, from the time when Thucydides breaks off, 411 
b.c, to the battle of Mantinea in 362 b.c. The sub- 
ject is treated in a very dry and uninteresting style ; 
and the historian's evident partiality to Sparta and 
dislike of Athens have frequently warped his judg- 
ment, and led him to exaggerate or to suppress im- 
portant facts. Nevertheless, the Hellenica is valuable 
as our best historical authority for the period which 
it covers. The Cyropcvdia, one of the most pleasing 
and popular of his works, professes to be a history 
of Cyrus, the founder of the Persian monarchy, but 
is, in reality, a kind of political romance, and possess- 
es no authority whatever as an historical work. The 
design of the author seems to have been to draw a 
picture of a perfect state; and though the scene is 
laid in Persia, the materials of the work are derived 
from his own philosophical notions and the usages of 
Sparta, engrafted on the popularly current stories re- 
specting Cyrus. Xenophon displays in this work his 
dislike of democratic institutions like those of Ath- 
ens, and his preference for an aristocracy, or even a 
monarchy. Xenophon was also the author of several 
minor works ; but the only other treatise which we 

25 



386 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XX LI 

need mention is the Memorabilia of Socrates, in four 
books, which was intended as a defence of his master 
against the charges which occasioned his death, and un- 
doubtedly contains a genuine picture of Socrates, and 
of his philosophy so far as Xenophon was able to com- 
prehend it. The genius of Xenophon was not of the 
highest order ; it was practical rather than specula- 
tive ; but he is distinguished for his good sense, his mod- 
erate views, his humane temper, and his earnest piety. 

The Ten Attic Orators — The latter days of literary 
Athens were chiefly distinguished for the genius of 
her orators and philosophers. Ten of the Attic ora- 
tors were classed together by later "Greek critics, 
and recognized as the most distinguished masters of 
their art. Their names were Antiphon, Andocides, 
Lysias, Isocrates, Isaeus, ^Eschines, Demosthenes, Hy- 
perides, Lycurgus, and Dinarchus. 

Antiphon, the earliest of the ten, was born in 480 b.c. 
He opened a school of oratory, and won distinction 
as a pleader. He was put to death in 411 b.c. for 
the part which he took in establishing the oligarchy 
of the Four Hundred. 

Andocides, who was concerned in the celebrated 
affair of the Hermae, was born at Athens about 440 
b.c, and probably died in exile. His speeches are 
characterized by natural and vivid narrative rather 
than by artistic execution. 

Lysias was born at Athens about 450 b.c, but was 
the son of a Syracusan and never enjoyed the full 
rights of Athenian citizenship. He was an advocate 
who wrote pleas for his clients to deliver in the law- 
courts. Lysias is a type of the simple, unadorned 
style in oratory, and his speeches show great natural- 
ness and purity of diction. 



THE TEX ATTIC ORATORS 387 

Isocrates was born in 436 B.C. After receiving the 
instructions of some of the most celebrated sophists 
of the day, he became a speech-writer and a professor 
of oratory, the weakness of his voice and his natural 
timidity preventing him from taking a part in public 
life. He is said to have made away with himself in 
338 B.C., after the fatal battle of Chreronea, in despair 
of his country's fate. He took great pains with his 
compositions, and is reported to have spent ten years 
over his Panegyric oration. His style is well repre- 
sented in Latin by that of Cicero. 

Isaeus flourished between the end of the Pelopon- 
nesian war and the accession of Philip of Macedon. 
He was a teacher of oratory at Athens, and is said 
to have numbered Demosthenes among his pupils. 
The orations of Isaeus were exclusively judicial, and 
all of the eleven which have come down to us turn 
on the subject of inheritances. 

iEschines was born in the year 389 B.C., and first 
became known as a public speaker in the year of the 
capture of Olynthus by Philip of Macedon (348 B.C.). 
At that time he was a pronounced anti-Macedonian; 
but after his embassy along with Demosthenes and 
others to Philip's court, he was the constant advocate 
of peace. Demosthenes and iEschines now became 
the leading speakers on their respective sides, and 
the heat of political animosity soon degenerated into 
personal hatred. In 343 B.C. Demosthenes brought 
a charge against JEschines of unfaithfulness to his 
duties as an ambassador on the occasion above men- 
tioned ; and the speech in which he brought forward 
this accusation was answered in another by ^Eschines. 
JEschines was acquitted, but by a majority of only 
thirty votes. We have already referred to his im- 



388 



HISTORY OF GREECE 



Chap. XXII 



peach men t of Ctes- 

iphon, and the cele- 
b r a t e d reply of 
Demosthenes in 
his speech On the 
Grown ( 330 b.c. ). 
In exile, ^Eschines 
is said to have em- 
ployed himself in 
teaching: rhetoric at 
Rhodes. He died 
in 314 B.C. 

Of the life of 
his great rival, De- 
mosthenes, we have 
already given some 
account. Demos- 
thenes was unques- 
tionablv the great- 
est orator of antiq- 
uity. The principal 
element of his suc- 
cess must be traced 
in his purity of pur- 
pose, which gave to 
his arguments all 
the force of con- 
scientious convic- 
tion. The effect 
of his speeches was 
still further height- 
ened by a wonder- 
ful and almost mag- 
ic force of diction, and by a masterly strength and 




j-;s< HINKS 



IONIC PHILOSOPHY 380 

earnestness in delivery. That his power was recog- 
nized by his rival is shown by a well - known an- 
ecdote. It is said that ^Eschines once read to the 
Rhodians his speech against Ctesiphon. His audience 
having expressed their surprise that he should have 
been defeated after such an oration, he remarked : 
" You would cease to wonder if you had heard De- 
mosthenes." 

The remaining three Attic orators, viz., Lycurgus, 
Hyperides, and Dinarchus, were contemporaries of 
Demosthenes. Lycurgus and Hyperides both be- 
longed to the anti-Macedonian party, and were warm 
supporters of the policy of Demosthenes. Dinarchus, 
who is the least important of the Attic orators, sur- 
vived Demosthenes, and was a friend of Demetrius 
of Phalerum. 

The Ionic School of Philosophy. — The history of Greek 
philosophy, like that of Greek history, began in Asia 
Minor. The earliest philosopher of distinction was 
Thales of Miletus, who was born about 640 B.C., and 
died at the age of ninety. He was the founder of the 
Ionic school of philosophy, and to him were traced 
the first beginnings of physical science. The main 
doctrine of his philosophical system was that water, 
or fluid substance, was the single original element 
from which everything came. Anaximander, the 
successor of Thales in the Ionic school, lived from 
about 610 to 545 b.c. He was distinguished for 
his knowledge of astronomy and geography, and is 
said to have been the first to introduce the use of the 
sun-dial into Greece. Anaximenes, the third in the 
series of Ionian philosophers, lived somewhat later 
than Anaximander. He endeavored, like Thales, to 
derive the origin of all material things from a single 



390 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXII 

element ; and, according to his theory, air was the 
source of all life. 

Heraclitus of Ephesus, who was a little younger 
than Anaximenes, has been generally classed with the 
Ionian philosophers, though his doctrines cannot be 
regarded as closely allied with theirs. He held that 
all matter was in continuous, restless motion ; that 
nothing really existed, but that all things were in a 
state of "becoming" — i.el 9 passing from one form of 
existence to another. 

The Eleatic School.— A second school of Greek phi- 
losophy was the Eleatic, which derived its name from 
Elea or Velia, a Greek colony on the western coast of 
southern Italy. It was founded by Xenophanes of 
Colophon, who had fled to Elea after the conquest of 
his native land by the Persians. He conceived the 
whole of nature to be God. Parmenides, the principal 
representative of the Eleatic school, was born at Elea 
about 515 b.c. Following Xenophanes, he maintained, 
in direct opposition to Heraclitus, that being is eter- 
nal and unchangeable ; that everything which exists 
has existed, and will remain the same forever. 

Anaxagoras. — Anaxagoras has been described as one 
of those who sought to reconcile the teachings of 
Heraclitus with those of the Eleatic school. Anax- 
agoras was himself an Ionian, born at Clazomense in 
the year 500 b.c. He came to Athens about 462 
b.c, whera he continued to teach for thirty years, 
numbering among his hearers Pericles, Thucydides, 
and Euripides. He abandoned the system of his Io- 
nian predecessors, and, instead of regarding some ele- 
mentary form of matter as the origin of all things, 
he held that a supreme mind or intelligence, distinct 
from the visible world, had imparted form and order 



AXAXAGORAS AND PYTHAGORAS 391 

to the chaos of nature. These beliefs afforded the 
Athenians a pretext for indicting Anaxagoras on the 
charge of impiety, though it is not improbable that 
his connection with Pericles was the real cause of 
that proceeding. The philosopher was obliged to 
quit Athens, and retired to Lampsacus, where he died 
at the age of seventy-two. 

The Atomists. — The Atoniists also may be said to 
occupy a position midway between Heraclitus and 
the Eleatics. Leucippus, the founder of this school, 
and Democritus, its chief representative, adopted 
the Eleatic theory of the immutability of matter, 
while, on the other hand, they so far followed Hera- 
clitus as to believe that all matter is in a state of 
constant movement. They maintained the existence 
of an infinite number of original elements, or atoms, 
by the combinations of which all things are pro- 
duced. 

The Pythagoreans.— Still another important school 
of philosophy was the Pythagorean, founded by 
Pythagoras. He was a native of Samos, and was 
born about 575 b.c. He is said to have been taught 
by Thales and Anaximander, and to have travelled 
extensively in Greece and Egypt. He believed in the 
transmigration of souls ; and later writers inform us 
that Pythagoras asserted that his own soul had for- 
merly dwelt in the body of the Trojan Euphorbus, the 
son of Panthous, w T ho was slain by Menelaus, and that 
in proof of his assertion he took down, at first sight, 
the shield of Euphorbus from the temple of Hera at 
Argos, where it had been dedicated by Menelaus. 
Pythagoras was a religious teacher as well as a 
philosopher ; and he looked upon himself as a being 
destined by the gods to reveal to his disciples a new 



392 HISTORY OF GREECE Chap. XXII 

and a purer mode of life. He founded at Croton, in 
Italy, a kind of religious brotherhood, the members 
of which were bound together by peculiar rites and 
observances. This brotherhood soon widened, and 
acquired great influence in other cities of Magna 
Groecia. The Pythagoreans were distinguished for 
their knowledge of geometry, arithmetic, and astron- 
omy ; and they regarded number as the basis and 
essence of all things. 

Socrates and Plato : the Academy.— At Athens a new 
direction was given to the study of philosophy by 
Socrates, whose life and teachings have already been 
described. It was Socrates who first realized that the 
proper subject of philosophy is not nature, but man, 
and it is with Socrates that psychological and eth- 
ical study begins. His great disciple, Plato, was born 
at Athens about 427 b.c. Plato's first literary at- 
tempts were in poetry ; but his attention was soon 
turned to philosophy by the teaching of Socrates, 
whose follower he became at about the age of twen- 
ty. From that time till the death of Socrates he 
appears to have lived in the closest intimacy with 
that philosopher. After the death of his master, 
Plato withdrew to Megara, and subsequently under- 
took extensive travels, in the course of which he 
visited Cyrene, Egypt, Sicily, and Magna Graecia. 
His intercourse with the elder and the younger Dio- 
nysius at Syracuse has been already described. His 
absence from Athens lasted about twelve years ; 
on his return, being then about forty, he began to 
teach in the gymnasium of the Academy. Here he 
gathered around him a circle of devoted admirers 
and disciples. It is said that over the door of his 
lecture-room was inscribed, " Let no one enter who 



PLATO AND ARISTOTLE 393 

is ignorant of geometry." The most distinguished 
of his auditors were Speusippus, his nephew and suc- 
cessor, and Aristotle. He died in 347 B.C. 

Plato has been well called " deus philosophorum" 
Developing the philosophy of Socrates, he clothes 
his teachings in the form of dialogues, in which 
Socrates is chief spokesman. Plato sought to gain 
a clearer conception of the great ideals, which are 
represented in the visible world only by imperfect 
copies — above all, a clearer conception of the Ideal 
Good. It was education, he thought, that must 
quicken man's love for the ideal forms of goodness 
and truth, and lead to that harmonious union of all 
the virtues which makes perfection. Aside from their 
philosophical value, Plato's works are universally ad- 
mired as masterpieces of style. The school of phi- 
losophy which he founded, and which bore the name 
of the Academy, continued to exist for many cen- 
turies. 

Aristotle: the Peripatetic School — Aristotle was born 
in 384 b.c. at Stagirus, a town of Chalcidice, whence 
he is frequently called "the Stagirite." At the age 
of seventeen, Aristotle, who had then lost his father, 
came to Athens. Plato considered him his best schol- 
ar, and called him " the intellect of the school." Aris- 
totle remained in Athens until the death of Plato, in 
347 b.c. Four or five years later he accepted the invi- 
tation of Philip of Macedon to undertake the instruc- 
tion of his son Alexander. In 335 b.c, after Alex- 
ander had ascended the throne, Aristotle quitted 
Macedonia, to which he never returned. He again 
took up his abode at Athens, where he began teach- 
ing in the gymnasium called the Lyceum. From 
the shady walks (peripatoi) of this place his school 



39-1 



HISTORY OF GREECE 



Chap. XXII 



was called the Peripatetic. He is said to have lect- 
ured in the morning only to a select class of pupils ; 
these lectures were termed esoteric. His afternoon 
discourses were delivered to a wider circle, and were 
therefore called exoteric. It was during the twelve 

years in which he pre- 
sided over the Lyceum 
that he composed the 
series of great works 
which have come down 
to us. The latter part 
of Aristotle's life was 
unfortunate. After the 
death of Alexander the 
disturbances which en- 
sued in Greece proved 
unfavorable to his 
peace and security. He 
left Athens and retired 
to Chalcis, where he 
died in 322 B.C. 

Of all the great 
thinkers of antiquity, 
Aristotle may be said 
to have done the most to satisfy the practical needs 
of mankind. His teachings were founded on a close 
and accurate observation of human nature and of the 
external world ; but, while he sought the practical 
and useful, he did not neglect the beautiful and 
noble. His works consisted of treatises in natural, 
.moral, and political philosophy, logic, rhetoric, criti- 
cism, etc.; indeed, there was scarcely a branch of 
knowledge which his vast and comprehensive genius 
did not embrace. 




ARISTOTLE 



ZEXO AND EPICURUS 395 

The Stoics and the Epicureans: Zeno and Epicurus. — 

The Academic and Peripatetic schools of philosophy, 
founded respectively by Plato and Aristotle, enjoyed 
the foremost distinction down to the beginning of 
the third century b.c. Then two new schools came 
into existence and gained strength rapidly. These 
were the Stoic and the Epicurean. 

Zeno, the founder of the Stoic school, was a native 
of Citium, in the island of Cyprus. He settled at 
Athens and, in the last decade of the fourth century 
B.C., opened a school in the Poecile Stoa, or painted 
hall, whence the name of his sect. The moral stand- 
ard of the Stoics was a very high one. They held 
that the end of philosophy was the attainment of 
virtue, and that vice was the only thing which man 
should fear. It has been said that they introduced 
into philosophy the conception of duty. A famous 
Stoic paradox was that the wise man is always happy. 

Epicurus was born at Samos in 341 b.c, and about 
the year 306 b.c. founded in his " garden " at Athens 
the school which bears his name. He taught that 
pleasure is the highest good ; not, however, positive 
pleasure, but the happier state of freedom from pain 
and from unsatisfied want. The ideas of atheism 
and sensual degradation with which the name of 
Epicurus has been so frequently coupled are founded 
on ignorance of his real teaching. But as he denied 
the immortality of the soul and the interference of 
the gods in human affairs — though he believed in 
their existence — his tenets were very liable to be 
abused by those who did not fully understand them. 



INDEX AND PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY 



Note. — In cases where it has seemed necessary or advisable the 
sounds of the letters have been indicated thus : 9, like s; eh, like k ; g 
like j ; §, like z. 



A'bae,293. 

A-broc'o-mas, Persian satrap. 235. 

Ab'u-lites, Persian satrap, 316. 

A-by dus, 92 ; battle of, 211. 

A-cad'e-mv, the, 163; philosophv of, 
393. 

A-can'thus, 93; admits Brasidas, 
181. 

Ac ar-na'ni-a, 3 ; allied with Ath- 
ens, 16-4; Demosthenes in, 171: 
in league against Philip, 295; 
cities of, allied with the .Eto- 
lians, 352 ; desert the xEtolians, 
352; punished bv the Romans, 
358. 

A'ces-i'nes, river, 322. 

A-ehae'an league, 347-319; consti- 
tution of, 318, 319; extended, 
319; allied with jEtolia, 319; 
solicits aid from Antigonus Do- 
son, 350; battles with the iEto- 
lians, 352; in alliance with Philip 
V., 352, 351; in alliance with 
Rome, 355 ; captures Sparta, 357;- 
overthrown by the Romans, 359. 

A-ehae'ans, conquered bv the Dori- 
ans. .21. 

A -eh* us, 6, 

A-ehai'a (a-ka'ya)^: early history 
of, 39; in alliance with Athens, 



131 ; with Thebes, 273; supports 
the Spartans at Mantinea, 271: 
in league against Philip, 295 : 
invaded by the /Etolians, 352. 

A-ehar'nse, Attic deme, 165. 

Aeh "el o'us, river, 2. 

A-ehil les, 11, 12. 

Aeh'ra-d'i'na, 193,202. 

A eras an cliff, 202. 

Ac-rop'o-lis, Athenian, captured by 
Xerxes, 101; described, 143; 
buildings on, 150-160. 

Ac ti-um, battle of, 138. 

Ad-i -man tus, Corinthian command- 
er, 105. 

Ad-me'tus, king of the Molossians. 
121. 

^E'a, 10. 

iE'a-cus,332. 

;E-e'te*, 10. 

.E'^,281. 

iE-ga'le-os, Mount, Xerxes at, 107. 

JB'geus, 9. 

sEgi co-reis, 46. 

JS-gim'i-us, 21. 

.E li'i'na, under Phidon, 34; de- 
scribed, 90; reduced by Athens. 
130; joins the Achaean league. 
319. 

M ui- tie tans, at war with Athens, 



398 



INDEX 



89 ; complain of the Athenians, 
140. 

^E-jVis'thns, 13. 

Mgi-um, meeting - place of the 
Achaean league, 349. 

M gos-pot'a-mi, capture of the 
Athenian fleet at, 221. 

M-gyp tus, 7. 

.E-ne'as, 11. 

yE-o'li-ans, 6; colonies of the, in 
Asia Minor, 6b' ; defection of the, 
from Sparta, 117 ; lyric poetry of 
the, 368. 

iE'o-lis,243, 

tE'o-Ius, 6. 

.Es'ehi-nes, an ambassador to Philip, 
292; accuses Demosthenes, 328 ; 
retires to Asia Minor, 329; ac- 
count of his life, 387. 

iEs'ehy-lus, 133 ; account of, 376 ; 
character as a poet, 377. 

^E"thi-o'pi-a, 166. 

iE'thra, 9. 

iE-to'li-a, 3; punished by the Ro- 
mans, 358. 

iE-to'li-an league, constitution of, 
351 ; extended, 352 ; battles with 
the Achaeans, 352; at war with 
Philip V., 353 ; in alliance with 
Rome, 354 ; solicits aid from An- 
tiochus III., 356 ; subdued by the 
Romans, 356. 

Ag' a-mem'non, 11, 13, 244. 

A-gath'o-cles, 345. 

A-ges 'i-la us, becomes king of 
Sparta, 241 ; character, 242 ; his 
expedition against the Persians, 
243,244: invades Phrygia, 245; 
routs the Persians on the Pacto- 
lus, 245 ; recalled, 246 ; home- 
ward march, 249; at^Coronea, 
250 ; invades Bceotia, 260 ; saves 
Sparta, 274; at Mantinea, 274; 
expedition to Egypt, 276 ; death. 
276. 

Ag e-sip'o lis, king of Sparta, 248. 

A iris II., king of Sparta, victorious 



at Mantinea, 188 ; occupies De- 
celea,197; an enemy of Alcibiades, 
205 ; his death, 241. 

AgisIII ,328. 

Agis IV., 350. 

Agora, 13; of Athens, 163. 

Ag'ri-a ni ans, 301. 

Ag"ri-<},en turn, 67, 371. 

Ajax, 186. 

Al'ba, 357. 

Al-933'us, lyric poet, 66, 368. 

Al"9i-bi'a-des,at Delium,181; char- 
acter of, 186 ; deceives the Spar- 
tan ambassadors, 187 ; joint com- 
mander of the Sicilian expedition, 
189 ; accused of profaning the 
mysteries, 191; arrest and escape 
of, 192; condemned, 192; goes to 
Sparta, 193 ; excites a revolt of 
the Chians, 204; flies to Tissa- 
phernes, 205; intrigues of, 206; 
his negotiations with the Athe- 
nians at Samos, 206 ; elected 
general, 209; arrested by Tissa- 
phernes, 212; defeats the Pelo- 
ponnesians at Cyzicus, 212 ; re- 
turns to Athens, 215; dismissed 
from the command of the Athe- 
nian fleet, 216; at iEgospotami, 
221; his death, 225. 

Ale mae-on i-dae, the, banishment 
of, 47 ; rebuild the temple at Del- 
phi, 58 ; connection of Aristides 
with, 120. 

Alc'man, lyric poet, 369. 

Alc-me'na, 8. 

A-leu'a-dae, 288. 

Al ex-an'der I. of Macedonia, kills 
the Persian heralds, 77 ; sent to 
Athens by Mardonius, 110. 

Alexander II., invades Thessaly, 
270; dispossessed of his con- 
quests by Pelopidas, 270; mur- 
dered by Ptolemy, 271. 

Alexander III., the Great, 296; 
education, 299 ; accession, 299 ; 
overawes the Thebans and Athe- 



INDEX 



399 



mans, 300 ; generalissimo against 
Persia, 300; interview with Diog- 
enes, 301; defeats the Triballi- 
ans and Illyrians, 301 ; destroys 
Thebes, 302 ; demands the Athe- 
nian orators, 303 ; crosses to Asia, 
304 ; at the Granicus, 305 ; prog- 
ress through Asia Minor, 306, 
307; cuts the Gordian knot, 307; 
dangerous illness, 307 ; at Issus, 
308, 309 ; marches through Phoe- 
nicia, 311; captures Tyre, 312 ; 
answer to Parmenio, 312 ; pro- 
ceeds to Egypt, 313; visits the 
temple of Ammon, 313 ; at Gau- 
gamela, 314, 315 ; enters Babylon 
and Susa, 316; marches to Persep- 
olis, 316; pursues Darius, 317, 
318; reduces the remoter Persian 
provinces, 318 - 320 ; defeats the 
Scythians, 319; marries Roxana, 
320 ; kills Clitus, 320 ; plot of the 
pages against his life, 321 ; crosses 
the Indus, 321 ; vanquishes Poms, 
321 ; marches homeward, 322 ; 
peril among the Malli, 323 ; ar- 
rives at the Indian Ocean, 323 ; 
march through Gedrosia, 323, 
324 ; marries Barsine, 324 ; quells 
a mutiny, 325 ; at Ecbatana and 
Babylon, 325, 326 ; his ambitious 
projects, 326 ; death, 326 ; char- 
acter, 326, 327 ; estimate of his 
exploits, 327 ; funeral, 335. 

Alexander, son of Alexander the 
Great, 334, 335, 338, 339. 

Alexander, son of Polysperchon, 
337. 

Alexander, son of Cassander, 343. 

Alexander of Pherae, becomes Tagus 
of Thessaly, 270 ; deprived of his 
power, 270 ; seizes Pelopidas, 271 ; 
defeated at Cynoscephalae, ^72. 

Alexander, king of Epirus, 297. 

Al ex-an'dri-a A"ri-o , rum,ftymded, 
318. 

Alexandria in Egypt, founded, 313. 



Al-pe'ni, 96. 

Al-phe'us, river, 4. 

A-ma'nus, Mount, 308. 

A-ma'sis, king of Egypt, 75. 

Am'a-zons the, 9. 

Am bra' c^i- a. sends aid to Gvlippus, 
197. 

Am-bra'^i-ots, allied with Sparta, 
164; defeated by Demosthenes, 
174. 

Ammon, 313. 

Am-phic 'ty-on'ic Council, its ori- 
gin, constitution, and functions, 
17; decrees of, 41, 287, 293, 295. 

Am-phip'o-lis, founded, 134; sur- 
renders to Brasidas, 182; battle 
of, 183; captured by Philip, 286. 

Am-phis'sa, declared guilty of sac- 
rilege, 295. 

A-mvn'tas I., of Macedonia, 77. 

Amyntas II., of Macedonia, 284. 

A -nab'a-sis, the, of Xenophon, 385. 

A-nac're-on, lyric poet, 57, 369. 

An'ac-to'ri-um, founded, 71; allied 
with Sparta, 164. 

A-na'pus, river, 192. 

An "ax-ag'o-ras, a friend of Pericles, 
127; charged with impiety, 135; 
as a philosopher, 390. 

An-ax'i-las, 69. 

An-ax"i man'der, 389. 

An"ax im'e-nes, 389. 

An-ehi'seg, 11. 

An-9y'ra, 307. 

An-do^'i-deg, 386. 

An'dros, 134. 

An-tal'ci-das, 252, 253; peace of, 
253, 254. 

An- the' la, 96. 

An'the-mus, 286. 

An-tig'o-nis, Athenian tribe, 341. 

An-tig'o-nus, general of Alexander, 
334; in conflict with Perdiccas, 
335 ; coalition against, 338 ; sends 
Demetrius to Athens, 340; as- 
sumes the title of king, 341 ; 
invades Egypt, 341 ; slain, 342, 



400 



INDEX 



Antigonus Do' son, 350, 351. 

Antigonus Go-na'tas, king of Mac- 
edonia, 346 ; defeats Pyrrhus, 
347 ; reduces Athens, 347. 

An'ti-oeh, founded by Seleucus, 343. 

An-ti o-€hus, companion of Alci- 
biades, 216. 

Antiochus, father of Seleucus, 343. 

Antiochus So'ter, 346. 

Antiochus III., 356. 

An tip'a-ter, regent of Macedonia, 
304; defeats the Spartans, 328: 
defeated near Thermopylae, 331 ; 
overthrows the allied Greeks at 
Crannon, 332; demands the Athe- 
nian orators, 332 ; receives, with 
Craterus, Macedonia, and Greece, 
334; in conflict with Perdiccas, 
335 ; declared regent, 336 ; death, 
336. 

Antipater, son of Cassander, 343. 

An-tiph i-lus, 331. 

An'ti-phon, Athenian orator, 209, 
386. 

An'y-tus, 231. 

Ap"a-tu'ri-a, festival of the, 219. 

Aph'e-tae, 101. 

Aph-ro-di te, 11. 

A-pollo, 12 ; oracle of, at Delphi, 
20. 

A "pol-lo'ni-a, founded, 71 ; threat- 
ened by Philip V., 353. 

Ar'a-cus, Spartan admiral, 220. 

A-ra'tus, 348 ; strategus of Achsean 
league, 349 ; extends league, 349; 
solicits aid from Antigonus Do- 
son, 350 ; defeats /Etolians, 352 ; 
defeated at Caphvae, 352; death, 
353. 

Ar-be'la, 314,315. 

Ar-ca'di-a, 3. 

Ar-ca'di-ans, at war with Sparta, 
36 : yield to Sparta, 39 ; join the 
Argives against Sparta, 125 ; 
united, 267 ; defeated by the 
Spartans, 270; in alliance with 
the Athenians, 273; at war with 



Elis, 273; friendlv to Philip, 
294. 

Ar'ehe-la'us, king of Macedonia, 
283, 284, 378. 

Ar >hi-as, Theban polemarch, 257, 
258. 

Archias, the Thurian, 333. 

Ar'ehi-da'mus, king of Sparta, 165, 
166 ; besieges Platsea, 170. 

Archidamus, son of Agesilaus, 270. 

Ar-ehil'o-ehus, iambic poet, 366. 

Ar'ehon, Ep-on'y-mus, 45. 

Archons, at Athens, before Draco, 
44, 45 ; in time of Draco, 48, 49 ; 
of Solon, 52 ; of Clisthenes, 60 ; 
in later times, 123, 128. 

A 're-op 'a-gus, hill of, 143, 162. 

Areopagus, Senate of, before Draco, 
45 ; in time of Draco, 49 ; of 
Solon, 52 ; of Ephialtes, 126. 

Ares, 9. 

A'reus, king of Sparta, 347. 

Ar'ga-deis, 46. 

Ar-gae'us, 284. 

Ar gi-nu'sse, battle of, 218. 

Ar'gives, at war with Sparta, 36 ; 
join alliance against Sparta, 37 ; 
defeated by the Spartans, 39 ; 
defeated and massacred by Cle- 
omenes, 82; defeated by Agis, 
188 ; allied with Corinth, Athens, 
and Thebes against Sparta. 248 ; 
defeated by the Spartans, 270 ; 
join Epaminondas, 274 ; friendly 
to Philip, 294 ; join the Achaean 
league, 349. 

Ar'go, 10. 

Ar'go lis, 3. 

Ar'go- nauts, 10. 

Ar'gos, 3 ; chief Dorian state in 
Peloponnesus, 25 ; under Phidon, 
34 ; takes no part against the 
Persians, 94; in alliance with 
Athens, 128; head of a new con 
federacy, 185; in alliance with 
Athens, 187. 

Aria, 318. 



INDEX 



401 



A"ri-ad'ne, 9. 

A-ri'on, lyric poet, 369, 370. 

Ar is-tag'o-ras, causes Ionian re- 
volt, 78, 79 ; slain, 80. 

Ar'is-ti'deg, character of, 90 ; os- 
tracized, 90; organizes Confed- 
eracy of Delos, 117, 118; his 
prominence, 120 ; death, 122. 

Ar is-tip'pus, 232. 

Ar"is-toc'ra-te§, 210. 

Ar'is-to-de'mus of Messenia, 35, 
36. 

Ar"is-to-gi'ton, the Athenian ty- 
rannicide, 57, 316. 

Ar"is-tom'a-€he, 278. 

Ar'is-tom'e-nes of Messenia, 37, 
38. 

A-ris'ton, 377. 

Ar is-toph'a-ne§, 133, 230; ac- 
count of, 380. 

Ar'is-tot-le, 299 ; account of, 393, 
394. 

Ar-me'ni a, 239. 

Ar"rhi-dae'us, see Philip Arrhi- 
dseus. 

Ar-sin'o-e, 344, 345. 

Ar"ta-pher'ne§, Persian satrap, 78, 
79. 

Artaphernes, a leader of the second 
Persian expedition, 83. 

Ar'ta-xerx'e§ I., of Persia, 121. 

Artaxerxes II., accession of, 233; 
defeats Cyrus at Cunaxa, 237 ; 
imposes on the Greeks the peace 
of Antalcidas, 253, 254; pro- 
claims the supremacy of Thebes, 
272. 

Ar'te-mis, 31, 96. 

Ar"te-mis i-a, 107. 

Ar"te-mis'i-um, battles of, 101, 102. 

As'cra, 365. 

A'sia Mi'nor, Greek colonies in, 65, 
66. 

A-so'pus, river, 111. 

As-pa'si-a, 134, 135, 168. 

As-pen'dus, 306. 

As'ty, the, 147. 
26 



As-ty'a-geg, king of the Medes, 73 ; 
overthrown by Cyrus, 74. 

A-the'na, 145; temples of, in Athens, 
152-160; statues of, in Athens, 
156. 

A-the ni-ans, divided into three 
classes, 46 ; into four tribes, 46 ; 
by Solon into four property class- 
es, 51 ; under Pisistratus and his 
sons, 54-59; defeat the Thebans 
and Chalcidians, 62, 63 ; assist the 
Ionians, 79 ; defeat the Persians 
at Marathon, 87; at war with 
^Egina, 89 ; conduct of, in the Per- 
sian wars, 94; at Artemisium, 97; 
abandon Athens, 103 ; reject the 
overtures of Mardonius, 110; re- 
build their city, 114; leaders in 
the war against Persia, 117-130 ; 
extend their influence in Greece, 
128 ; defeated by the Lacedaemo- 
nians, 129; conquer Bceotia, 129; 
reduce iEgina, 130; assist Ina- 
rus, 130 ; make peace with Per- 
sia, 130 ; prosperity of the, 131 ; 
defeated at Coronea, 131, con- 
clude a truce with Sparta, 132; 
send out colonists, 133, 134; sub- 
jugate Samos, 137; form an al- 
liance with Corcyra, 138 ; their 
allies and resources in the Pelo- 
ponnesian war, 164 ; their fleet 
annoys Peloponnesus, 165, 167; 
their decree against the Mytile- 
neans, 172; capture Sphacteria, 
179; defeated at Delium, 181; 
defeated at Amphipolis, 183; con- 
clude peace with Sparta, 184; 
refuse to surrender Pylus, 185 ; 
in alliance with Argos, 187; con- 
quer Melos, 188 ; send an expe- 
dition to Sicily, 191 ; lay siege to 
Syracuse, 195; send reinforce- 
ments to Syracuse, 198; totally 
defeated, 200; establish an oli- 
garchy, 207; gain a naval vic- 
tory at Cynossema, 211 ; at Ab\ T - 



402 



IXDEX 



dus, 211; at Cyzicus, 212; recall 
Alcibiades, 215; victorious at Ar- 
ginusae, 218; their fleet captured 
at ^Egospotami, 221; assist the 
Thebans, 248; form a league 
• with Corinth, Thebes, and Argoa 
against Sparta, 248; at the head 
of a new confederacy, 258; at war 
with Sparta, 260; defeat the 
Spartans at Xaxos, 261 ; con- 
clude peace with Sparta, 262 ; re- 
affirm the peace of Antalcidas, 
267 ; side with Sparta against 
Thebes, 269, 274; deceived by 
Philip, 285, 286; at war with 
their allies, 287 ; -conclude peace 
with Philip, 292 ; send expedi- 
tions to relieve Byzantium, 295 ; 
unite with the Thebans against 
Philip, 296 ; prostrated by the 
battle of Choeronea, 296; over- 
awed by Alexander, 300 ; receive 
Harpalus, 329 ; rise against Mac- 
edonia, 330 ; take part in the 
Lamian war, 330; at war with 
Antigonus Gonatas, 347; declare 
war against Philip V., 355. 
Ath'ens, early history of, 43 ; early 
constitution of, 44-46 ; taken by 
the Persians, 104; second occu- 
pation of, by the Persians, 110: 
rebuilding of, 114; at the head 
of the Delian Confederacy, 117; 
incipient decline of, 131 ; art and 
literature of, 132, 133; plague at, 
166; invested by the Peloponne- 
sians, 222 ; surrender of, 222 ; es- 
tablishment of Thirty Tyrants at, 
223 ; democracy restored at, 228 : 
surrenders to Antipater, 332; to 
Cassander, 338; to Demetrius, 
340; to Antigonus Gonatas, 347; 
description of the city, 143-163; 
origin of its name, 145; harbors, 
117; walls, 147; public build- 
ings, 150-160; long walls rebuilt, 
251. 



Ath'os, Persians wrecked at, 83; 

canal at, 92. 
At'om-ists, the, 391. 
At'ta-lus, king of Pergamum, 355. 
Attalus, Macedonian general, 297. 
At tic tribes, four, 46; increased to 

ten, 60; to twelve, 341. 
At'ti-ca, 2, 3 ; early history of, 43 ; 

three factions in, 50 ; invaded by 

the Peloponnesians, 132, 165, 166, 

197,222, 227. 
Au'lis, 244. 

Baby-Ion, submits to Alexander, 
316; scene of Alexander's triumphs 
and death, 326. 

Bab'y-lo'nia, 237. 

Bac'tri-a, subdued bv Alexander, 
319. 

Bar-ba'ri-an, meaning of the term, 
16. 

Bar'ca, 71. 

Bar'si-ne, married to Alexander, 
324 ; murdered by Roxana, 334. 

Bas'i-leus, at Athens, 44; title of 
the second arch on, 45. 

Be'lus, temple of, 316. 

Be'ma, the, at Athens, 162. 

Ber e-nic^e, wife of Ptolemy I., 344. 

Bes'sus, 318 ; put to death, 319. 

Bce-o'tarehs, restored, 258. 

Boe-o'ti-a, 2 ; reduced by the Athe- 
nians, 129 ; evacuated by the 
Athenians, 132 ; allied with Spar- 
ta, 164 ; invaded by the Atheni- 
ans, 180 ; by the Spartans, 260 ; 
joins the JEtolian league, 352; 
punished by the Romans, 358. 

Bce-o'ti-an league, formation of, 
129; dissolved by the peace of 
Antalcidas, 254 ; restored, 262. 

Boeotians, character of, 2. 

Bos'po-rus, Athenian toll at the, 212. 

JJou le, the, in the Heroic age, 13; 
at Athens, see Senate. 

Bras'i-das,expedition of,into Thrace, 
181 ; victory and death, 183. 



INDEX 



403 



Bren'nus, leader of the Celts, 346. 

Bu-9eph'a-la, founded, 322. 

Bu-9eph'a-lus, 322. 

By-zan'ti-um, founded, 72; captured 
b\ T Pausanias, 116; by the Athe- 
nians, 123, 213 ; revolts from 
Athens, 287 ; besieged bv Philip, 
295. 

Cad-me'a, the citadel of -Thebes, 
founded, 8 ; seized by the Spar- 
tans, 255 ; recovered, 258. 

Cad m us, 8. 

Cal-au-ri'a, 333. 

Cal-€he'don, captured by the Athe- 
nians, 213. 

Cal'li-as, of Chalcis, 295. 

Cal-lib'Us, 224. 

Cal-lic'ra-tes, 358. 

Cal'li crat'i-das, succeeds Lysander, 
216; defeated at Arginusae, 218. 

Cal-lid'ro-mus, Mount, 96, 99. 

Cal-lim'a-ehus, Athenian polemarch 
at Marathon, 85, 87. 

Cal-lip'pus, 279. 

Cal-lix'e-nus, 219. 

Cam-by'ses, king of Persia, 74. 

Can'nae, battle of, 353. 

Caph'y-ae, battle of, 352. 

Cap"pa-do'ci-a, 92, 235, 307. 

Car-du'ehi, 239. 

Ca'ri-a, 124. 

Car-ma ni-a, 324. 

Car-ne'an festival, 96, 97. 

Carthage, 189. 

Car' 'tha-gin'i-ans, in Sicily, defeated 
by Gelon, 109 ; by Timoleon,281. 

Car"y-at'i-de§, 158. 

Cas'pi-an Gates, the, 317. 

Cas-san'der, son of Antipater, 336; 
establishes an oligarchy at Ath- 
ens, 338; takes Pydna and be- 
comes master of Macedonia, 338 ; 
restores Thebes, 338 ; at war with 
Antigonus, 339 ; murders Roxana 
and her son, 339 ; his death, 343. 

Cas'tor, 320. 



Cat'a-na, taken by the Athenians, 
191. 

Ce'a-das, 38. 

(j*e cro' pi-da?, 145. 

(jVcrops, legendary founder of Ath- 
ens, 7 ; his rule, 43. 

Ce-la3na3, 235. 

£elts, invade Macedonia and Greece, 
346. 

Centaur, 154. 

(Vos,370. 

£eph 'al-le'ni-a, 4. 

(J?eph"al-le'ni-ans, the, aid the Athe- 
nians, 164. 

(JVphi'sus, river, 145. 

Qer'a-mi'cus, the, 163. 

Qe-rau'nus, see Ptolemy Ceraunus. 

Chabri-as, 259; victor at Naxos, 
261. 

Chaer'e-phon, 230. 

Chasr 'o-ne'a, battle of, 296. 

Chal-^id'i-ans, defeated by the Athe- 
nians, 63; join the Argive league, 
185. 

Chal-9id'i-9e, 71, 139, 255, 393. 

ehal"ci-oe'cus, Athena, 119. 

Chains, 71, 394. 

Chal'y-bes, the, 240. 

Charon, 257, 258. 

Cher'so-ne'sus, Thracian,Miltiades, 
tyrant of the, 76 ; recovered by 
the Athenians, 113; colonized by 
the Athenians, 134. 

Chil'i-ar€h,336. 

Chios, QQ ; submits to the Persians, 
74; independent ally of Athens, 
131, 164; revolts from Athens, 
204 ; ravaged by the Athenians, 
205; revolts from Athens, 287. 

Choe'ri-lus, Athenian dramatist, 
375. 

Chrys"el-e-phan'tine statuary, 156. 

Ghrvs-op'o lis, 212. 

Ci-li-p-a, 83, 235, 307. 

Qi-mon, son of Miltiades, 89 ; in 
command of the allied fleet, 118; 
his conquests and campaigns, 123, 



404 



INDEX 



124; assists the Lacedaemonians, 
125; ostracized. 127; recalled, 
130; his expedition to Cyprus 
and death, 130 ; his patronage of 
art, 148. 

Cir-rhaa'an plain, 19; cultivated by 
the Phocians, 287. 

Cis'si-ans, 98. 

£ith -ae'ron, Mount, 260. 

Cit'i-um, besieged by Cimon, 130; 
Zeno of, 395. 

Cla-zom'e-na?, recovered by the 
Athenians, 205; confirmed to 
Persia by the peace of Antalcidas, 
253 ; Anaxagoras of, 390. 

Cle ar'ehus, a general of the Ten 
Thousand, 234-238. 

Cle-ar'i das, 183. 

Cle-om'bro-tus, king of Sparta, in- 
vades Bceotia, 260; second in- 
vasion, 264 ; slain, 265. 

Cle-om'e-ne§ I., king of Sparta, in- 
vades Attica, 62; defeats the 
Argives, 82. 

Cleomenes III., 350. 

Cle'on, 172; his character, 172; his 
violence, 178 ; his expedition to 
Sphacteria, 178, 179; to Thrace, 
182 ; flight and death, 183. 

Cle-o'na?, 19. 

Cle'o-pa'tra, 325. 

Cle'o-phon, Athenian demagogue, 
212. 

Cle-ru'chi, Athenian, in Euboea, 63 ; 
sent out by Pericles, 134. 

Cle'ru-ehies, character of, 133. 

Cli'ni-as, 186. 

Clis'the nep, of Sicyon, 40, 41. 

Clisthenes, of Athens, an Alcmaeon- 
id, 58 ; his reforms, 59 -61 ; their 
effect, 63. 

Cli'tus, king of Illyria, 301. 

Clitus, friend of Alexander, saves 
his life, 306; slain bv Alexander, 
320. 

Clyt' ae-mes'tra, 13. 

Cni'dus, battle of, 249. 



Co'drus, legendarv king of Athens, 
50. 

Coinage, introduced by Phidon, 34. 

Col'-ehi-ans, the, 240. 

Colchis, 10. 

Colonies, Greek, 64; why founded, 
64; relation of, to the mother- 
city, 64; in Asia Minor, 65, 66; 
in Sicily, 67; in Italy, 66-70; in 
Gaul and Spain, 70 ; in Africa, 
70, 71; on the Ionian Sea, 71; 
in Macedonia and Thrace, 71, 72 ; 
Athenian, 133, 134. 

Co-lo'nus, 207 ; (Edipus at, of Soph- 
ocles, 378. 

Colophon, 390. 

Co-los'saa, 235. 

Comedy, Greek, origin of, 372, 374; 
old Attic, 379, 380; middle, 380 ; 
new, 381. 

Co'non, supersedes Alcibiades, 216; 
defeated by Callicratidas, 217 ; at 
yEgospotami, 220; defeats the 
Spartan fleet at Cnidus, 249 ; re- 
duces the Spartan cities, 251 ; 
rebuilds the long walls, 251. 

Cor-cy'ra, founded, 71 ; civil war in, 
174; reduced by Timotheus, 261 ; 
at war with the Spartans, 261. 

Cor'cy rse'ans, quarrel with Cor- 
inth, 137 ; send an embassy to 
Athens, 138; assisted by the 
Athenians, 138; in league against 
Philip, 295. 

Corinth, 3 ; under Phidon, 34 ; ear- 
lv history of, 40 ; congresses at, 
94, 297, 300; battle of, 249; de- 
stroyed by Mum mi us, 359. 

Corinthian gulf, 2. 

Corinthian order of architecture, 
145. 

Corinthian war, 248. 

Corinthians, assist the Spartans. 37 
defeated by the Athenians, 128 
assist the Epidamnians, 137 
urge Sparta to declare war, 140 
defeated by Phormio, 171 ; cause 



INDEX 



405 



the formation of the Argive con- 
federacy, 185; send aid to Gy- 
lippus, 197; allied with the Athe- 
nians, Thebans, and Argives 
against Sparta, 248 ; conclude 
peace with the Thebans, 273 
send Timoleon to Syracuse, 280 
in league against Philip, 295 
join the Achaean league, 349. 

Cor'o-ne'a, first battle of, 131 ; sec- 
ond battle of, 250. 

Cor 'u-ped i on. 345. 

Cos, 66; revolts from Athens, 287. 

Cotta-bus, 224. 

Cran'a-i, 145. 

Cran'non, battle of, 332. 

Crate -rus, 325; aids Antipater, 
332 ; receives, with Antipater, 
Macedonia and Greece, 334; in 
league against Perdiccas, 335 ; 
defeated and slain, 336. 

Cra-ti'nus, Athenian comedian, 379. 

Cren'i-des, 286. 

Cre'on, 333. 

Cres-phon'tes, 24, 25. 

Crete, 4; its laws copied bvLvcur- 
gus,26. 

Cri-mi'sus, battle of, 281. 

Cri'sa destroyed by the Amphic- 
tyons, 44. 

Crit'i-as, leader of the Thirty Ty- 
rants, 223 ; his violence, 224 ; 
defeated and slain, 227. 

Cri'to, 232. 

Crit'o la' us, 359. 

Croesus, king of Lydia, reduces 
the Grecian cities, 73 ; his rule, 
73 ; fall of, 74. 

Cro ton, founded, 68 ; overthrows 
Sybaris, 69. 

Ctes'i-phon, 328.' 

Cu'mae, founded, 66. 

Cu-nax'a, battle of, 237. 

Cy-a'ne-an rocks, 130. 

Qyb'e-le, temple of, 234. 

9yc'la-deg, 4; subdued by the Per- 
sians. 84. 



Cyd'nus, river, 307. 

Qvl-le'ne, 193. 

Qy'lon, conspiracy of, 46, 47. 

^y'me, 66, 365. 

Qyn'ic, Diogenes, the, 281, 300. 

Cyn"os -c^eph'a-lae, first battle of, 

272 ; second battle of, 355. 
Qyn'os-se'ma, battle of, 211. 
Cy'prus, revolts from the Persians, 

80 ; Cimon's expedition against, 

130; surrendered to Persia, 131; 

confirmed to Persia by the peace 

of Antalcidas, 253. 
Cvr'e-na ic school of philosophv, 

"232. 
£y-re'ne, founded, 70. 
Qy" ro-pce-di 'a, of Xenophon, 385. 
^y rus, the Great, king of Persia, 

overthrows the Median empire, 

74 ; captures Sardis, 74. 
Cyrus, the younger, sent to aid the 

Lacedaemonians, 214: plans an 

expedition against Artaxerxes, 

233 ; his march, 234-237 ; slain, 

237. 
Cy-the'ra, island, captured by Nic- 

'ias, 180. 
Cyz'i-cus, battle of, 212 ; recovered 

by the Athenians, 212. 

Dai-morii-on, of Socrates, 229. 

Da' i-phan'tus, 275. 

Damascus, 310. 

Da" mi- or' gi, 349. 

Dan'-a-i, 7. 

Dan'a-us, 7. 

Dar-da'ni-ans, 294. 

Da-ri'us I., king of Persia, invades 
Scythia, 75, 76; sends two ex- 
peditions against Greece, 82, 83 ; 
death of, 91. 

Darius II., No'thus, resolves to 
aid the Lacedaemonians, 213 ; 
death of, 233. 

Darius III., Cod'o - man'nus, de- 
feated by Alexander at Issus, 309 ; 
sues for peace, 311, 312; over- 



106 



INDEX 



thrown by Alexander at Gau- 
gamela, 315; murdered, 318, 

Das '-cy-li um, 118 ; residence of 
Pharnabazus, 245. 

Da'tis, a leader of the second Per- 
sian expedition, 83. 

Dec'ar-ehies, Spartan, 241. 

Dec/'e-le'a, occupied by the Lace- 
daemonians, 197. 

De'-li-an Confederacy, the, origin 
of, 117, 118; growth of, 123; 
transformed into the Athenian 
empire, 131; discontent in, 136. 

De'li-um, battle of, 181. 

De'los, 4, 118. 

Del-phi, temple of, 17; oracle of, 
20 ; temple of, rebuilt by the 
Alcmaeonidae, 58 ; attacked by 
Xerxes, 104; taken by the Pho- 
cians, 288; occupied by Philip, 
293 ; attacked by the Celts, 34G ; 
in possession of the iEtolians, 
352. 

De-ma'des, Athenian orator, 303. 

Dem 'a-ra'tus, king of Sparta, 
thwarts Cleomenes, 62 ; deposed, 
62 ; at Thermopylae, 98. 

De-mar ehus, 60. 

De-meter, temple of, at Thermop- 
ylae, 17. 

De-me'tri-as, Athenian tribe, 341. 

De-me'tri-us of Phalerum, becomes 
ruler of Athens, 338 ; character 
of, 340 ; retires to Thebes, 340. 

Demetrius Pol"i-or-c;e'tes, capt- 
ures Athens, 340 ; besieges Sal- 
amis, 341 ; defeats Ptolemy, 341: 
besieges Rhodes, 341; allied with 
Seleucus, 343 ; his second capt- 
ure of Athens, 343 ; becomes 
king of Macedonia, 343 ; his I 
- death, 344. 

Demetrius IT., king of Macedonia, 
350, 351. 

Ue mi-ur r/i, 10, 46. 

De-moc'ri-tus, 391. 

De-mos'the nes, Athenian general, 



174; fortifies Pylus, 175; capt- 
ures Sphacteria, 179; sent to 
Syracuse, 198 ; his death, 202. 

Demosthenes, Athenian orator, ac- 
count of, 288-290; delivers his 
first Philippic, 290 ; his Olynthi- 
acs, 291 ; serves on an embassy 
to Philip, 292; forms a league 
against Philip, 295; enlists 
Thebes against Philip, 296; 
fights at Chaeronea, 296 ; his con- 
duct after Philip's death, 300; 
endeavors to rouse Greece, 300, 
302; accused by ^Eschines, 328; 
delivers the oration "On the 
Crown," 329; accused of corrup- 
tion, 330; recalled from exile, 
331 ; demanded by Antipater, 
332 ; escapes to Calauria, 333 ; 
his death, 333; character of, as 
an orator, 388, 389. 

De'mu s, district in Attica, 59. 

Der-cyl'li-das,243. 

Deu ca'li-on, 6. 

Di-ac'ri-i, 50. 

Di-ae'us, strategus of the Achaean 
league, 359. 

Di-cas'te ries, instituted by Solon, 
53 ; power and importance of, 
127, 128. 

Di-nar'-ehus, Athenian orator, 389. 

Di-noc'ra-tes, 357. 

Di-og'e-nes, the Cynic, 281 ; his in- 
terview with Alexander, 301. 

Dion, exiled, 278 ; takes Syracuse, 
279; assassinated, 279. 

Di "o-nvs i ac theatre, at Athens, 
160-162. 

Di 'o-nys'i-us, the elder, tyrant of 
Syracuse, assists the Lacedae- 
monians, 253,269, 270; rule and 
character of, 277 ; death of, 278. 

Dionvsius, the vounger, accession 
of,"278; expelled by Dion, 279; 
regains possession of Syracuse, 
279 ; retires to Corinth, 281. 

Di"o-nv'sus, 372-375. 



INDEX 



407 



Di 'o-pi'thes, Athenian general, 
294. 

Di 'os-cu'ri, 320. 

Dip'y-lon, gate of Athens, 163. 

Dith'y-ramb, nature of the, 373; 
the source of tragedy, 373. 

Dor'cis, 117. 

Do'ri-ans, the, invade and conquer 
Peloponnesus, 23-25 ; three tribes 
of, 27 ; lyric poetry of, 368. 

Dor'ic order of architecture, 150, 
152, 160. 

Do'ris, 2 ; invaded by the Phocians, 
128; joins the iEtolian league, 
352. 

Do'ris, wife of Dionysius, 278. 

Do-ris'cus, plain of, 93. 

Do'rus, 6. 

Do'son, see Antigonus Doson. 

Draco, constitution and laws of, 48, 
49 ; results of his legislation, 49. 

Dra'ma, origin of, 372, 373. 

Dra-mat'ic poetry, 372. 

Dran"gi-a'na, subdued by Alexan- 
der, 318. 

Dryp'e-tis,324. 

Dy -manes, 27. 

Ec-bat'a-na, 317, 319, 325. 

Ec-cle'si-a, the, in time of Solon, 
53; of Clisthenes, 60. 

Ech'e-mus, 24. 

E-ges'ta, at war with Selinus, 189 ; 
calls in the aid of the Athenians, 
189 ; its weakness, 191. 

Egypt, its influence upon Greece, 
7. 

E ion, captured by Cimon, 123; se- 
cured by Thucydides, 182. 

El-a3'us,305. 

El'a-te'a, occupied bv Philip, 295. 

El'e-a,390. 

E-le'ans, allied with Sparta, 35, 37 ; 

• recover Olympia, 39 ; join Ar- 
give league, 185 ; at Avar with the 
Arcadians, 273 ; on the side of 
the Spartans at Mantinea, 274 ; 



friendly to Philip, 294; allied 
with the iEtolians, 352; in al- 
liance with Rome, 354 ; join 
Achaean league, 356. 

El'e-at'ic school of philosophy, 390. 

El-e'gi ac poetry, in Ionic dialect, 
366 ; character of, 366. 

El"e-phan-ti'ne,382. 

El 'eu-sin'i-an mvsteries, profaned, 
191. 

E-leu'sis, in Attica, 62, 132; the 
Thirty Tyrants retire to, 227. 

" Eleven," the, 224, 228. 

E'lis, 4, 18 ; in alliance with Athens, 
187 ; refuses to reaffirm the peace 
of Antalcidas, 267. 

En co'mi-a, 371* 

En'di us, 212. 

E-pam'i-non'das, Theban general, 
259; his character, 260; sent as 
ambassador to Sparta, 262 ; mili- 
tary genius of, 264; defeats the 
Spartans at Leuctra, 265 ; in- 
vades Laconia, 268; restores the 
Messenians, 269 ; saves a Theban 
army, 271 ; rescues Pelopidas, 
271; threatens Sparta, 274; vic- 
torious at Mantinea, 275 ; slain, 
275. 

Eph'e-sus, 66, 79 ; Lysander at, 
214 ; Agesilaus at, 244 ; surren- 
ders to Alexander, 306. 

Eph"i-al'teg, overthrows the Are- 
opagus, 126 ; assassinated, 127. 

Eph'ors, Spartan, 29, 30; power of 
the, 30; overthrown by Cleom- 
enes III., 350. 

Ep "i-al'teg, the Malian traitor, 98. 

Ep'ic poetry, 361 ; Trojan cycle of, 
364; of Hesiod, 365 ; composed 
in the- Ionic dialect, 366. 

Ep"i-cu-re'an sect, 395. 

Ep"i-cn'rus, 395. 

Ep"i-dam'nus, founded, 71,* aided 
by the Corinthians, 137. 

Ep"i-dau'ri-ans, allied with Sparta, 
188. 



408 



INDEX 



Ep"i-dau'rus, joins the Achaean 
league, 349. 

Ep 'i-mel-e'tce, 60. 

Ep"i-men ides, 47. 

Ep"i-nig i-a, 371. 

E-pip'o-lae, 194, 195,196. 

E-pi'rus, 2; Philip's conquests in, 
291, 294; punished by the Ro- 
mans, 358. 

Ep-on'y-mus, see Archon. 

Er'eeh-the'um, the, 157, 158. 

E-reeh'theus, 145, 157. 

E-re'tri-a, aids the Ionians, 79; 
burned by the Persians, 84 ; na- 
val battle off, 210. 

E-re'tri-ans, the, settle in Corcyra, 
71 ; colonies of, 71. 

Eu-am'e-tus, 95. 

Eu-bce'a, 4; revolts from Athens, 
132; second revolt of, 210; un- 
der control of Philip, 294; joins 
league against Philip, 295. 

Eu-boe'ans, light with Epaminondas 
at Mantinea, 274. 

Eu-cli'des, Athenian archon, 228. 

Euclides, the philosopher, 232. 

Eu'rnen-eg, 334, 335; defeats Crat- 
erus, 336. 

Eu-men'i-de.-, 47. 

Eu-mol'pi-dse, 192, 216. 

Eu'no-mus, 289. 

EU'pa'tri-dce, 10, 46. 

Eu-phor'bus, 391. 

Eu-phra'teg, river, 235,311,314; its 
course surveyed bv Alexander, 
326. 

Eu'po-lis, Athenian comedian, 379. 

Eu-rip'i-des, 133 ; account of, 378 ; 
character as a poet, 379. 

Eu-ri'pus, strait between Euboea 
and Greece. 210. 

Eu-ro'tas, river, 4, 268. 

Eu'rv-bi'a-des, Spartan admiral, 96, 
105, 106. 

Eu-ryd'i-ce, wife of Philip Arrhi- 

daeus, 338. 
Eurydice, wife of Ptolemy I., 344. 



Eu-ryl'o-ehus, 41. 

Eu-rvm'e-don, river, battle of the, 

124. 
Eurvmedon, Athenian general, 198, 

200. 
Eu-rys'then-e^, 25. 
Eu-rvs'theus, 9. 
Eux'ine Sea, 71, 240. 
E-vag'o-ras, 221, 243. 
Ex"e-9es'ti-de.2, 50. 

Flam'i-ni'nus, T. Quinctius, Ro- 
man consul, 355. 

"Four Hundred," government of 
the, established, 208 ; put down, 
210. 

Ga-la'ti-a, 346. 

Gau"ga-me'la. battle of, 314, 315. 

Ga'za, 313. 

Ge-dro'si-a, 323. 

Ge'la, 376. 

Gel'e-on'tes, 46. 

Ge'lon, of Syracuse, 109. 

Ge-o'mo-ri, 10,46. 

Ge-ru'sl-a, Spartan Senate, 29. 

Go-na'tas, see Antigonus Gonatas. 

Gor'di-an Knot, the, 307. 

Gor'di-um, 213, 307. 

Gor'di-us, 307. 

Gor'go, 33. 

Gram ma-teus, of the Achaean 
league, 349; of the ^Etolian 
league, 351. 

Gra-ni'cus, battle of the, 305. 

Greece, situation and extent of, 1; 
divisions of, 2-4; physical feat- 
ures, 4, 5 ; Oriental settlers in, 7, 
8; becomes subject to Rome, 360. 

Greeks, character of, 5; origin of, 
6, 7 ; legends of, 6-13 ; causes 
which united them, 16-21 ; lan- 
guage of, 16; religion of, 16,17; 
their national games, 17-20; col- 
onies of, 64-72; literature of, 
361-395. 

Grvl'lus, 384. 



INDEX 



409 



Gy-lip'pus, 193; arrives in Sicily, 
195; captures Labdalum, 196; 
captures the forts on Plemmyr- 
ium, 198. 

Gym-na'gi-a, the, 230. 

Gym'ni-as, 240. 

Gyin'no-pce'di-a, the, 265. 

Gv-the'um, port of Sparta, 130, 
*268. 

Ha'dri-an, Roman Emperor, 56, 

145. 
Hse mus, Mount, 301. 
Hag'non, founder of Amphipolis, 

134. 
Hal'i-ar'tus, battle of, 248. 
Hal"i-car nas'sus, 133 ; captured by 

Alexander, 306; birthplace of 

Herodotus, 66, 381. 
Hal"ir-rho'thi-us, 162. 
Ha'lys, river, 73. 
Ha- mil car, 109. 
Han'ni -bal, 353, 354. 
Har-mo'di-us and Ar"is-to-gi'ton, 

conspiracv of, 57; statues of, 59, 

316. 
Har'mosts, Spartan, 241. 
Har'pa-gus, Persian general, 74. 
Har'pa-ius, 329, 330. 
He'brus, river, 93. 
Hec"a-tae'us, historian, 79. 
Hec"a-tom'pe-dos, 153. 
Hector, 11, 12. 
Helen, 11. 
Hel-ep'o-lis, 342. 
Helicon, Mount, 250, 365. 
He -lis'son, river, 268. 
Hel"lan-od i-933, 18. 
Hellas, the name, I. 
Hel'len,*6, 7. 
Hel-le'nes, the name, 1 ; origin of 

the, 6. See Greeks. 
Hel-len'i-ca, of Xenophon, 385. 
Hel'len-o tam'i se, 118. 
Hellespont, the, colonies on, 71; 

bridge over, 92. 
Hel os, 268. 



He'lots, condition of the, 27, 28 ; in 
the Spartan army, 111; revolt 
of, 125; at Sphacteria, 177. 

He-phaas'ti-on, marries Drvpetis, 
324; death of, 325. 

He-phaes'tus, 12; temple of (?), 160. 

Hera, 9. 

Her'a-cles, 8-10 ; temple of (?), 160. 

Her"a-cli'dae, return of the, 23-25. 

Her'a-cli'tus, of Ephesus, 390. 

Her'mae, mutilation of the, 190. 

Hermes, 190. 

Her'mo-la'us, 321. 

He rod'o-tus, 66; account of, 381- 
383. 

Heroes, the, 8-13. 

Heroic age, the, 8 ; manners of, 13- 
15. 

He'si-od, epic poet, 365, 366. 

Hes-per'i-des, 9. 

Hi'e-ron, of Syracuse, 371. 

Hi'me-ra, 196^ 

Hip-par'ehus, accession of, 57; as- 
sassination of, 57. 

Hip'peis, Athenian, 52. 

Hip'pi-as, accession of, 57 ; ex- 
pelled from Athens, 68 ; at Mara- 
thon, 84. 

Hip-poc'ra-teg, 212. 

Hip-pol'y-te, 9. 

His'tiae'us, of Miletus, saves Dari- 
us, 76 ; instigates the Ionian re- 
volt, 78; crucified, 81. 

History, 6; rise of, 381. 

Homer, 361-364; in antiquity, 362, 
364. 

Homeric poems, their value, 13; 
their origin and date, 362, 363 ; 
preservation of, 363, 364. 

Hop-le'tes, 46. 

Hop'lites", 84. 

Hy-das'pes, river, 321, 322. 

Hyl'leis, 27. 

Hyl'lus, 24. 

Hy"per-i'de£, Athenian orator, 330, 
'333, 389. 

Hy-pha'sis, river, 322. 



410 



INDEX 



Hyr-ca'ni-a, subdued by Alexander, 

318. 
Hys'i-aB, battle of, 36. 

I-am'bic poetry, in Ionic dialect, 
366 ; character of, 366. 

Ic ti'nus, architect of the Parthe- 
non, 152. 

Iliad, the, 11, 12, 361; origin and 
date of, 363. 

I-lis'us, river, 145. 

Ilium, 361. 

II lyr'i-a, 1 ; Greek colonies in, 71 ; 
Philip's conquests in, 291. 

Il-lyr'i-ans, at war with the Epi- 
damnians, 137 ; defeated by Phil- 
ip, 281, 291 ; by Alexander, 
301. 

Im'bros, 4; reduced by the Per- 
sians, 77 ; colonized by the Athe- 
nians, 134 ; confirmed to Athens 
by the peace of Antalcidas, 253. 

"Immortals," the, 98. 

In'a-rus, aided by the Athenians, 
130. 

In'di-a, Alexander's invasion of, 
321-323. 

Indus, river, 321. 

P'o-lai-das, 275. 

I-ol'cus. 10. 

Ion, 6. 

I-o'ni-a, subjugated by the Per- 
sians, 82; the fountain-head of 
epic poetry, 66. 

I-o'ni-an colonics, of Asia Minor, 
66. 

Ionians, 7; migrations of, 24; four 
tribes of, 46 ; revolt of, 79 ; defec- 
tion of, from Sparta, 117; poetry 
of, 366. 

I on'ic, order of architecture, 150, 
152, 158 ; the dialect of epic 
poetry, 366; of elegiac and iam- 
bic poetry, 366; school of phi- 
losophy, 389. 

I'o-phon, 377. 

I-phic'ra tes, tactics of, 252; sue 



cesses of, 252 ; commander of the 
Athenian fleet, 252, 253. 

Iph'i-tus, king of Elis, 18, 25. 

Ip'sus, battle of, 342. 

I'ra, fortress of, 38. 

I-soe'us, Athenian orator, 387. 

I-sag'o-ras, 59, 62. 

I-soc'ra-teg, Athenian orator, 387. 

Is'sus, battle of, 307-309. 

Isth'mi-an games, the, 19. 

Ith'a-ca, island, 4, 13. 

I-tho'me, Mount, 35, 36; the helots 
at, 125; citadel of Messene lo- 
cated upon, 269. 

Ja'son, leader of the Argonautic 

expedition, 10, 11. 
Jason of Pherae, 265 ; his ambition, 

266 ; assassinated, 266. 
Jax-ar'tes, river, 319. 

Kings, at Sparta, 28, 29 ; at Athens, 
44; their power limited, 44; 
king archon, 45. 

Knights, Athenian, 52 ; become 
eligible to the archonship, 123. 

Lab'da-lum, fortress, erected, 195; 
captured by Gylippus, 196. 

La^'e-dae-mo'ni-ans, see Spartans. 

Laeh'a-res, tyrant of Athens, 343. 

La-co'ni-a, 3, 4; reduced by the 
Spartans, 34; invaded by Epam- 
inondas, 268, 274. 

Lade, battle of, 81. 

Lam'a-ehus, Athenian general, 189, 
195. 

La'mi-a, 331. 

La'mi-an war, 330-332. 

Lamp'sa-cus, 220, 391. • 

La-ni'9e, 320. 

La-om e-don, 334. 

Lap'i-thoe, 24, 154. 

Lar'i-sa, 288. 

Lau'ri-um, silver mines at, 90. 

Lem'nos, 4 ; reduced by the Per- 
sians, 77 ; colonized by the Athe- 



INDEX 



411 



mans, 134 ; confirmed to Athens 
by the peace of Antalcidas, 253. 

Le'on, town near Syracuse, 195. 

Leon, Athenian general, 218. 

Le-on'i-das, king of Sparta, at Ther- 
mopylae, 97-i00. 

Leonidas, tutor of Alexander, 299. 

Le'on-na'tus, 331, 334. 

Le"onti'a-de§, Thcban polemarch 
255. 

Le-os'then-e§, 330, 331. 

Le"o-tv€h'i-deg, Spartan admiral, 
112,* 113. 

Leotychides, son of Agis II., 241. 

Ler-nae'an hydra, 9. 

Le§'bos, 66-, submits to the Per- 
sians, 74 ; independent ally of 
Athens, 131; revolts from Athens, 
171; recovered by Athens, 173; 
lyric poetry of, 66, 368. 

Leu'cas, island, 4 ; allied with 
Sparta, 164 ; sends aid to Gylip- 
pus, 197; in league against Philip, 
295. 

Leu-cip'pus, 391. 

Leuc'tra, battle of, 264; effect of, 
265. 

Libya, 313. 

Li'bys, Spartan commander, 227. 

Literature, Greek, history of, 361- 
395. 

Lo-ehdr/i, 238. 

Lo'cri, founded, 69 ; Gvlippus at, 
196. 

Lo'cri-ans, 2; found Locri, 69; at 
Thermopylae, 97 ; give hostages 
to Athens, 130; allied with Spar- 
ta, 164; at war with the Pho- 
cians, 247; engaged in the Sacred 
War, 293 ; join the ^Etolian 
league, 352. 

Lo'cris, western, 3. 

Long walls, Athenian, 147; rebuilt, 
251. 

Lu'^i-an, 382. 

Lyc"a-bet'tus, Mount, 143. 

Lvc"a-o'ni-a, 235. 



Ly-^e'um, the, 163, 393. 

Ly-c^e'us, Apollo, 163. 

Ly9 i-a, 124, 306. 

Lyc'i-das, Athenian senator, 110. 

Ly'con, 231. 

Ly-cor'tas, 357. 

Ly-cur'gus, Spartan legislator, life 
of, 25-27; legislation of, 27-33; 
results of his legislation, 33-34. 

Lvcurgus, Athenian party leader, 
54. 

Lycurgus, Athenian orator, 389. 

Ly'cus, river, 315. 

Lyd'i-a, 73, 235, 245. 

Lyd'i-an monarchy, 73; overthrown 
by Cyrus, 74. 

Lyric poetry, 367 ; composed in 
iEolic and Doric dialects, 368; 
types of, 368. 

Ly-san'der, Spartan general, ap- 
pointed Navarchus, 214; suc- 
ceeded, 216; resumes command, 
220 ; captures the Athenian fleet 
at iEgospotami, 221; his pro- 
ceedings thereafter, 221; block- 
ades Piraeus, 222 ; takes posses- 
sion of Athens, 222 ; establishes 
the Thirty Tyrants, 223 ; honors 
paid to, 225 : his conduct, 226 ; 
returns to Athens, 227 ; his am- 
bitious schemes, 241 ; humiliated 
by Agesilaus, 244 ; his expedition 
into Bceotia, 247 ; slain, 248. 

Ly-san'dra, 345. 

Lys'i-as, Athenian orator, 386. 

Ly'si-mach'i-a, 345. 

Ly-sim'a-ehus, general of Alex- 
ander, receives Thrace, 334; in 
league against Antigonus, 339, 
strengthens his power, 339 ; with 
Seleucus, defeats Antigonus, 342 ; 
invades Macedonia, 344; de- 
feated and slain, 345. 

Lysimachus, tutor of Alexander, 299. 

Mat^'e-do'ni-a, 1; colonies in, 71; 
description of, 283; early kings 



412 



INDEX 



of, 283, 284 ; falls to Antipater 
and Craterus, 334; in possession 
of Cassander, 338 ; invaded by 
Pyrrhns and L}'simachus, 344; 
invaded by the Celts, 346; rulers 
of, after Alexander, 351. 

Mac/'e-do'ni-an empire, over- 
thrown, 357. 

Macedonians, their origin, 283. 

Ma-ehan'i-das. 354. 

Ma-crones, the, 240. 

Ma>an'der, river, 245. 

Magna Grae'ci-a, colonies in, G7-70. 

Mag-ne'si-a, city of Asia Minor, 
• 121 ; surrenders to Alexander, 
306. 

Magnesia, district east of Thessaly, 
101. 

Ma'le-a, cape, 218. 

Ma'li-an gulf, 95, 331. 

Ma'lis, 95. 

Mal'li, the, 323. 

Mal'lus, 308. 

Man"ti-ne'a, first battle of, 188; 
second battle of, 275 ; third bat- 
tle of, 354. 

Man'ti-ne'ans, defeated by Demos- 
thenes, 174; join Argive league, 
185; in alliance with Athens, 187; 
coerced by Sparta, 255; at war 
with Sparta, 267; conclude peace 
with Elis, 274. 

Mar'a-thon, plain of, 85, 86; battle 
of, 87. 

Mar'a-thus, 311. 

Mar-do'ni-us, unsuccessful expedi- 
tion of, 83; his advice to Xerxes, 
91, 108; negotiations with the 
Athenians, 110; marches against 
Athens, 110; retreat of, 111; de- 
feated and slain at Plataea, 111, 
112. 

Mas-sa Ti-a, founded, 70. 

Me-de'a, 10, 11. 

Medeg, the, empire of, 73 ; over- 
thrown by Cyrus, 74. 

Me'di-a, 73.' 



Me-dim'nus, 51. 

Meg'a-ba'tes, Persian admiral, 78. 

Meg'a-ba'zus, Persian general, 76, 
77. 

Meg'a-cleg, Athenian archon, 47. 

Meg"a-lop'o-lis, founded, 267, 268; 
battle of, 328; joins Achaean 
league, 349. 
I Meg'a-ra, Theagenes, tyrant of, 46; 
its territory ravaged by the Athe- 
nians, 165; unsuccessful attempt 
upon, by the Athenians, 180. 
j Me-ga'ri-ans, deprived of Salamis, 
51; allied with Athens, 128; re- 
volt from Athens, 132 ; allies of 
Sparta, 132; complain against 
Athens, 140; in league against 
Philip, 295; join the Achaean 
league, 349. 

Mcg'a-ric school of philosophv, 
232. 

Meg a-ris, 3. 

Mel'carth, Tvrian deity, 311. 

Mel-e'tus, 23*1. 

Melon, 257, 258. 

Me'los, 165 ; conquered by the 
Athenians, 188, 189. 

Mem"o-ra-bili-a, of Xenophon, 386. 

Mem phis, 313, 335. 
1 Me-nan der, Athenian comedian, 
381. 

Men'de, 182. 

Men e-la us, 11. 

Men on, a general of the Ten Thou- 
sand, 238. 

Mes-sa'na, 69. 

Mes-se'ne, founded, 269. 

Mes-se'ni-a, 3, 4 ; becomes a por- 
tion of Laconia, 39. 

Mes-se'ni-an war, first, 35, 36; sec- 
ond, 37-39 ; third, 125. 

Messenians, become the serfs of the 
Spartans, 39 ; in Italy, 69 ; at 
Naupactus, allied with Athens, 
164; at Sphacteria, 179; form 
garrison at Pylus, 180 ; removed 
from Pylus, 185 ; restored by 



INDEX 



413 



Epaminondas, 269 ; declared in- 
dependent by the Persians, 272 ; 
support Epaminondas at Man- 
tinea, 274; friendly to Philip. 
294; in alliance with .Etolians, 
352; aided by Aratus, 352; join 
Achaean league, 356 ; revolt from 
Achaean league, 357. 

Mes-si na, strait, 69. 

Met'a-pon'tum, founded, 70. 

Me-tel lus, Roman general, 359. 

Me-tho'ne, 287. 

Me-thym na, 369. 

Me-tretex, 51. 

Midas, 307. 

Miletus, 66; fall of, 81; Callicrati- 
das at, 217; surrenders to Alex- 
ander, 306. 

Mil-ti'a-des, 66 ; victor at Mara- 
thon, 85-87 ; accusation and 
death of, 89. 

Mt no, 48. 

Miu da-rus, Spartan admiral, 211, 
212. 

Minos, 8-10. 

Min o-taur, 9. 

Mi-se'num, cape, 6Q. 

Mnes'i-cles, architect of the Propy- 
laea, 150. 

Mo-los'si-ans, 121. 

Mora. 252. 

Mo-re a, 3. 

Mum'mi-us, 359; his ignorance of 
art, 359. 

Mu nieh'i-a, harbor of, 147; hill 
of, occupied bv Thrasvbulus, 
226. 

Mu-se'um, hill, 145. 

Myc'a-le, battle of, 112, 113. 

My-^e'naa, 11 ; ruins of, 15. 

Myr'^i-nus, 76, 77. 

Myrmidons, 11. 

Mys'i-a, 81. 

Mvt i-le ne, naval engagement at, 
217. 

Myt'i-le-ne'ans, revolt from Athens, 
171; capitulate, 172. 



Xau-pac'tus, 24, 25; Messenians 
at, 164 ; in possession of the ^Eto- 
lians, 352. 

Xau ta-ca, 319. 

Xa-var'ehus, 214, 220. 

Xa'va-ri'no, 174. 

Xax os, expedition against, 78 ; re- 
volts from Athens, 123 ; reduced, 
124; Athenian colonists in, 134; 
battle of, 261. 

Xe-ap'o-lis, 194. 

Xe-ar'ehus, voyage of, 323, 324. 

Nem e-a, 19. 

Xe-me an games, 19. 

Xe'o -da-mo des, 243. 

Xi-933'a, founded by Alexander, 
322. 

Ni-ca'nor, 337. 

Xic/i-as, attacked by Cleon, 177; 
captures Cythera, 180 ; peace of, 
184; appointed commander in 
Sicily, 189 ; his dilatory proceed- 
ings, there, 195; despondency of, 
197; superstition, 199; surrender, 
202 ; death, 202 ; character, 203. 

Xic'o-me'des, 129. 

Xi ke, Athena, temple of, 152; fig- 
ure of, 156. 

Xobles, in the heroic age, 13, 14 ; 
at Athens, 10,46. 

No'thus, see Darius II. 

Xo'ti-um, battle of, 216. 

Xymphs, Hill of the, 145. 

Ob o-lus, Greek coin, 215. 
O-dys'seus, 11-13, 362. 
Odys-sey, the, subject of, 13, 362 ; 

origin and date of, 363. 
QZd'i-pus at Colonus, 378. 
CE-noph'y-ta, battle of, 129. 
01' i-gar'ehy, 42,43. 
Ol'o-rus, 382. 
O-lym'pi-a, 17; recovered by the 

Pisatae, 36; by the Eleans, 39; 

battle of, 273. 
Olympiad, 18. 
O-lym pi-an Zeus, temple of, 145. 



414 



INDEX 



O-lym'pi-as, allied with Polysper- 
chon, 338 ; murdered, 338. 

O-lym'pic games, 4, 17-19; under 
Phidon, 34 ; under the Arcadi- 
ans, 273. 

O lyn thi-ac orations, of Demos- 
thenes, 291. 

O-lyn'thi-an confederacy, 255 ; dis- 
solved, 256 ; threatened by Phil- 
ip, 290 ; towns of, captured, 292. 

O-lyn'thus, 255 ; sues for peace 
with Sparta, 256 ; seeks alliance 
with Athens, 285; receives An- 
themus and Potidaea from Phil- 
ip, 286; applies to Athens for 
aid, 291 ; taken by Philip, 292. 

On-ehes'tus, 302. 

On'o-mar'ehus, Phocian general, 
288. 

O'pis, 324. 

O-pun'ti-an Locrians, 2; at Ther- 
mopylae, 97 ; give hostages to 
Athens, 130 ; allied with Sparta, 
164; at war with the Phocians, 
247. 

Orators, Athenian, demanded by 
Alexander, 303 ; by Antipater, 
332 ; ten Attic, 386-389. 

Oratory, Attic, 386-389. 

Or-€hom'e-nus,in Arcadia, captured 
b}' the Argives, 188. 

Orchomenus, in Bceotia, 261. 

O-res'teg, 24. 

O-rce'tes, Persian satrap, 75. 

O-ron'tes, river, 343. 

Or-tyg'i-a, 193. 

Os'tra-cJsm, introduced by Clisthe- 
nes, 61. 

Os't? % a-co??, 61. 

O-ta'neg, Persian general, 77. 

Ox us, river, 319. 

Ox-y-ar'teg, 319. 

Ox y-lus, 24. 

Pa'eheg, Athenian commander, 172, 

173. 
Pac-to'lus, 245. 



Pae-o'ni-a, invaded by Megabazus, 
77 ; by Alexander," 301. 

Vx-o ni-ans, reduced by Philip, 
284. 

Pag'-a-sae'an gulf, 96. 

Pal-le'ne, isthmus of, 71. 

Pa-mi sus, river, 4. 

Pam-phy'li, 27. 

Pam-phyl i-a, 124, 306. 

Pan'ath-e-nae'a, 57. 

Pan "ath-e-na'ic procession, 155. 

Pan-cra'ti-um, 18. 

Pan'e-gyr'ic, of Isocrates, 387. 

Pan-gae'us, Mount, 286. 

Pan'tho-us, 391. 

Paph"la-go'ni-a, 334. 

Paph"la-go'ni-ans, 307. 

Par 'a- 11, 50. 

Par ' a -1 us, 221. 

Parians, repulse Miltiades, 89. 

Paris, 11, 12. 

Par-me'ni-o, sent to Asia by Philip, 
297 ; his advice to Alexander, 
305,312; put to death, 319. 

Par-nas'sus, Mount, 2, 104. 

Parneg, Mount, 226. 

Pa'ros, Miltiades' expedition 
against, 88, 89. 

Par'the-non, the, 152, 153; sculpt- 
ures of, 153-156. 

Pa-rvs'a-tis, Persian queen, 233, 
245. 

Pa trae, battle of, 171. 

Pat'ro-cleg, Egyptian admiral, 347. 

Pa-tro'clus, 12. 

Paullus, L. ^Emilius, 357, 358. 

Pau-sa'ni-as, regent of Sparta, 111; 
victorious at Platoea, 112; vanity 
and treason of, 116, 117; recall 
and impeachment of, 117, 118 ; 
conviction and death, 119. 

Pausanias, king of Sparta, 226 ; ex- 
pedition against Athens, 227 ; in- 
vasion of Bceotia, 248 ; con- 
demned to death, 248. 

Pausanias, Philip's assassin, 298. 

Ped'i-eis, 50. 



INDEX 



415 



Pe-las'gi-ans, 6, 7. 

Pel la, 284, 293. 

Pel-le'ne, battle of, 352. 

Pc-lop'i-das, character of, 257; aids 
in liberating Thebes, 257, 258; 
Bceotarch, 258 ; gains a victory 
at Tegyra, 261 ; in Thessaly and 
Macedonia, 270 ; imprisoned by 
Alexander of Pherae, 271 ; res- 
cued, 271 ; ambassador to Per- 
sia, 272 ; defeats Alexander, 272 ; 
slain, 273. 

Pel'o - pon - ne'si - an confederac}', 
meeting of, 141; decides upon 
war against Athens, 141. 

Peloponnesian war, 164-222. 

Pel"o-pon-ne'sue, geography of, 3, 
4 ; conquered by the Dorians, 23- 
25. 

Pe'lops, 3, 8. 

Pel tasts, 252. 

Pel'te, 252. 

Pe-lu'si-um, 335. 

Pe-nelo-pe, 13. 

Pe-ne'us, 2. 

Pen" ta-cos" i-o-me-dini ni, 51. 

Pen-tath'lum, 18. 

Pen-tel'ic marble, 150, 152. 

Pen-tel'i-cus, Mount, 88. 

Per-dic'cas, reputed founder of the 
Macedonian monarchy, 283. 

Perdiccas II., king of Macedo- 
nia, causes the revolt of Poti- 
daea, 139 ; seeks the aid of the 
Spartans, 181; his rule and char- 
acter, 283. 

Perdiccas, general of Alexander, 
becomes regent, 334; his ambi- 
tion, 335 ; marches against Ptol- 
emy. 335 , assassinated, 336. 

Per'ga-mum, 355 ; Attains, king of, 
355. 

Per'ge, 306. 

Per'i-an'der, tyrant of Corinth, 40; 

Peri-cleg, succeeds Ephialtes, 127; 
character of, 127; reforms of, 
127, 128 ; his policy, 128 ; recon- 



quers Euboea, 132; art and liter- 
ature in the age of, 132, 133; 
his colonial policy, 133, 134; 
attacks upon, 134-136 ; reduces 
the Samians, 137 ; adorns the 
city, 149 ; funeral oration by, 166 ; 
accused of peculation, 168 ; his 
death and greatness, 169, 170. 

Pericles the younger, 168 ; con- 
demned and executed, 220. 

Pe-rin'thus, 72 ; captured by the 
Athenians, 212 ; besieged by Phil- 
ip, 295. 

Per"i-ce'gi, 27. 

Per"i-pa-tet'ic school of philoso- 
phy, 393. 

Per-sep'o-lis, taken *by Alexander, 
317. 

Per'seg, 365. 

Per'seus, king of Macedonia, 357; 
defeated by the Romans, 357. 

Per'sians, the, overthrow the Medes, 
74; overthrow Croesus, 74; re- 
duce the Greek cities, 74; in- 
vade Scythia, 75, 76 ; subdue the 
Thracians and Paeonians, 76, 77 ; 
suppress Ionian revolt, 82 ; first 
expedition of, against Greece, 83; 
second expedition, 83-88 ; defeat- 
ed at Marathon, 87 ; third expe- 
dition, 91-113 , their number un- 
der Xerxes, 93 ; at Thermopylae, 
97-100; at Artemisium, 101, l02; 
at Delphi, 104 ; occupy Athens, 
104; defeated at Salamis, 107; 
retreat of, 108; retake Athens, 
110; defeated at Plataaa, 111, 112; 
at Mycale, 112, 113; at the Eu- 
rymedon, 124 ; espouse the cause 
of Sparta, 213; at war with the 
Spartans, 242; force the peace 
of Antalcidas upon the Greeks, 
253 ; declare the supremacy of 
Thebes, 272. 

Phalanx, Macedonian, 285. 

Pha-le're-an, Demetrius, the, 338, 
340. 



416 



INDEX 



Pha-le'rum, 128; description of, 147. 

Pha'oo, 368. 

Phar 'na-ba'zus, Persian satrap, as- 
sists the Spartans, 212; concludes 
a compact with the Athenians, 
213; superseded, 214; befriends 
Alcibiades, 224 ; at war with the 
Spartans, 243 ; assists Conon and 
the Athenians, 243, 251. 

Pha-se'lis, 130. 

Phe'rae, Jason of, 265; Alexander 
of, 270-273. 

Phid'i-as, Athenian sculptor, ac- 
cused by enemies of Pericles, 136; 
his works, 153-156. 

Phi don, ruler of Argos, 31; his 
realm, 34; his expedition against 
Elis, 34, 35; death, 35. 

Phi "ga-li'a, captured by the Spar- 
tans, 37; joins the iEtolian league, 
352. 

Phir'a-del'phus, see Ptolemy Phil- 
adelphia. 

Phi-la'i-dse, 120. 

Phi -lemon, Athenian comedian, 
381. 

Phi-lin'na, 334. 

Philip II., king of Macedonia, car- 
ried to Thebes as a hostage, 271; 
education of, 284 ; talents of, 284, 
285 ; defeats the Illyrians and 
Paeonians, 284; takes Am phi pol is, 
Pydna, and Potidaea, 286; defeats 
the Phocians, 288 ; master of 
Thessaly, 288 ; expedition into 
Thrace, 288; conquests in Illyr- 
ia and Epirus, 291; takes Olyn- 
thus, 292; concludes peace with 
Athens, 292; occupies Delphi, 
293; expedition against the Illyr- 
ians and Dardanians, 294; in- 
trigues in Peloponnesus, 294; 
subjugates Thrace, 294 ; fails to 
capture Byzantium, 295 ; defeats 
the Greeks at Chaeronea, 296 ; 
his conduct after the battle, 296; 
clemency towards Athens, 296; 



appointed generalissimo against 
Persia, 297 ; assassinated, 297 ; 
character, 298. 

Philip III., Ar rhi-dae'us, declared 
king, 334; in Egypt, 334; death 
of, 338. 

Philip IV., 343. 

Philip V., accession of, 350; assists 
the Achaeans against the iEtoli- 
ans, 352 ; proceeds against the 
Illyrians, 353 ; concludes a treaty 
with Hannibal, 353; supported 
by the Achaeans, 354 ; makes 
peace with the Romans, 354; 
proceeds against Pergamum and 
Rhodes, 355 ; at war with Rome, 
355 ; defeated at Cynoscephalae, 
355 ; death, 357. 

Philip, the physician, 307. 

Phi-lip'pi, founded, 286. 

Phi-lip'pics of Demosthenes, 288; 
first, 290. 

Phi-lip'pus, Theban polemarch, 257, 
258. 

Phi-lis'cus, 270. 

Phi-loc'ra-teg, peace of, 292. 293. 

Phil' o-me'lus, 288; slain, 288. 

Phil'o-pce'men, 354; defeats the 
Spartans, 354 ; takes Sparta, 357; 
captured and put to death, 357. 

Philosophy, Greek, Ionic school of, 
389; Eleatic school, 390; Atom- 
ic, 391 ; Pythagorean, 391 ; 
Academic, 393; Peripatetic, 393 ; 
Stoic, 395 ; Epicurean, 395. 

Phi-lotas, son of Parmenio, 318. 

Philotas, general of Alexander, 334. 

Phi-lox'e-nus, 330. 

Phli'us, 19; coerced by the Spar- 
tans, 255; concludes peace with 
Thebes, 273 ; joins the Achaean 
league, 349. 

Pho-cVa, 218. 

Pho'cians, true to the Greek cause, 
94; at Thermopylae, 97-99; at 
war with the Dorians, 128, 129; 
become allies of Athens, 129; 



INDEX 



417 



expel partisans of Athens, 132 ; 
allied with Sparta, 161; at war 
with the Locrians, 217 ; at war 
with Thebes, 287 ; seize Delphi, 
288; defeated by Philip, 288; 
excluded from the peace of Phi- 
locrates,292; surrender to Philip, 
293; cities of, destroyed, 293; 
join the yEtolians, 352. 

Pho'c/i-on, Athenian statesman, 29 1 ; 
intercedes with Alexander, 303 ; 
refuses Alexander's presents, 304; 
accusation and death, 337. 

Pho'^is, 2. 

Phce bi-das, Lacedaemonian general, 
255, 25G. 

Phce-ni'c/i-a, its importance to Per- 
sia, 310; reduced by Alexander, 
311. 

Phce-ni'ci-ans, the, debt of the 
Greeks to, 8 ; fleet of, 249. 

Phor'mi-o, Athenian admiral, 171. 

Pho'ros, 259. 

Plira'to-res, oil. 

Phra'tri-a, 4G. 

Phryg'i-a, 214, 235, 215, 307. 

Phryg'i-an, 8, 307. 

Phrvn'i-ehus, one of the Four Hun- 
dred, 209. 210. 

Phrynichus, Athenian dramatist, 
375. 

Phy'le, Attic fortress, 226. 

Phyl'li-das, 257. 

Pi-e'ri-a, 96. 

Phx'a-co-theca. 152. 

Pin'a-rus, river, 308. 

Pin'dar, account of, 371 ; his house 
spared by Alexander, 302. 

Pin'dus, Mount, 2. 

Pi-rae'us, fortified, 116; harbors of, 
147. 

Pi-san'der, leader of the oligarchical 
conspiracy at Athens, 206. 

Pi-sa'tae, recover Olympia, 36; in 
league against Sparta, 37 ; sub- 
dued by Eleans and Spartans, 39. 

Pi-sidi -a^235, 307. 
27 



Pis"is-trat'i-da3, 283. 

Pi-sis'tra-tus, usurpation of, 54, 55 ; 
his administration and character, 
55,56; his death, 56; temples 
built by, 56, 145. 160. 

Pit'theus, 9. 

Plague at Athens, the, 166 ; second 
visitation of, 174. 

Pla-tae'a, battle of, 111, 112; allied 
with Athens, 164 ; besieged by 
the Peloponnesians, 170 ; surren- 
ders, 170; destroyed, 171 ; again 
destroyed by the Thebans, 262. 

Pla-tai'ans, the, aid the Athenians 
at Marathon, 84; true to the 
Greek cause, 94; repulse attack 
of the Thebans, 141. 

Pla'to, visits Sicily, 278 ; second 
and third visits to Sicily, 278 ; 
life of, 392 ; philosophy, 393. 

Plau'tus, 381. 

Pleis-to'a-nax, king of Sparta, 132, 
226. 

Plem-mvr'i-um, 196, 198. 

Plu'tareh, 31,286, 299. 

Pnyx, the, 143, 162. 

Pce'91-le Sto'a, 395. 

Poetrv, Greek, 361 ; principal types 
of, 361. 

Pol'e-mareh, Athenian, before Dra- 
co, 44, 45 ; in time of Draco, 48 ; 
of Clisthenes, 61; of the battle 
of Marathon, 85 ; in later times, 
123. 

Polemarchs, Theban, 255, 257. 

Pol'i-as, A-the'na, 152. 

Pol'l-or-c^etes, see Demetrius Poli- 
orcetes. 

Pollux, 320. 

Po-lyb'i-us, historian, 357, 358. 

Po-lyc'ra-te§ of Samos, 74, 75. 

Pol"y-do'rus, 267. 

Poly-phron, 266, 270. 

Pol"y-sper'€hon, appointed regent, 
336; his expedition to Greece, 
337; allied with Olympias, 338. 

Po'rus, Indian king, 321, 322. 



418 



INDEX 



Po-sei'don, 154, 157, 207, 333. 

Pot"i-d«'a, founded, 71 ; revolts 
from Athens, 140; surrenders to 
Athens, 171 ; captured by Philip, 
286. 

Prat i-nas, Greek dramatist, 375. 

Pri am, king of Troy, 11. 

Pro'cles, 25. 

Prod i-cus, sophist, 378. 

Prom'a-€hus, Athena, 156, 157. 

Proph-tha'si-a, 318. 

Pro-pon'tis, the, 212. 

lW'py-lae'a, the, 150. 

Prose, 361; principal types of, 361. 

Pro-tag'o-ras, sophist, 378. 

Pro-tes"i-la us, 305. 

Pryl'a-nes, the, 60, 219. 

Prvt a-ne'um, the, 231. 

Ptol'e-m y I.,(So'ter), recei vesEgypt, 
334; at war with Perdiccas, 335; 
in league against Antigonus, 338; 
defeated at Salamis, 341 ; abdi- 
cates, 344. 

Ptolemy II., Phir'a-del'phus, acces- 
sion of, 344; allied with Athens, 
347. 

Ptolemy Qe-rau nus, 344 ; assassi- 
nates Seleucus, 345 ; defeated and 
put to death, 346. 

Ptolemy, a claimant to the Mace- 
donian throne, 270 ; murders 
Alexander II., 271. 

Pyd'na, captured by Philip, 286; 
by Cassander, 338 ; battle of, 
357. 

Py'lse, of Babylonia, 237; Ciliciae, 
307. See also Thermopylae. 

Py'lus, fortification of, 175; battle 
in the bay of, 175; Athenians re- 
fuse to surrender, 185. 

Pyr'rha, 6. 

Pyr'rhus, king of Epirus, 344; be- 
comes king of Macedonia, 344; a 
second time, 346 ; death of, 347 ; 
character, 347. 

Pv-thag'o-ras, Greek philosopher, 
* 61), 391. 



Py-thag"o-re'ans, the, 69, 391, 392. 
Pyth i-a, the, 20. 
Pyth i-an games, 19. 

Rha'gae, 317. 

Rhap'sodeg, the, 364. 

Khe gi-um, 38 ; founded, 69; the 
Athenians at, 191. 

Rhodes, 4; revolts from Athens, 
287; besieged by Demetrius, 341 ; 
attacked by Philip V., 355. 

Romans, the, direct their attention 
towards Greece, 354; allied with 
the enemies of Philip V., 354 ; 
make peace with Philip, 354; at 
war with Philip, 355; victorious 
at Cynoscephalae, 355; proclaim 
the freedom of Greece, 355; de- 
feat Antiochus III. and the iEto- 
lians, 356 ; defeat Perseus, 357 ; 
overthrow the independence of 
Greece, 360. 

Rox-an'a, the wife of Alexander, 
320; murdered, 339. 

Sacred Band, Theban, 259, 261, 296. 

Sacred War, first, 40, 41 ; third, 287, 
293. 

Sa'is, 7. 

Sal' a-min i-a, 192. 

Sala-inis. recovered by the Athe- 
nians, 51 ; battle of, 107. 

Salamis, in Cyprus, battle of, 341. 

Sa'mos, 66 ; its power under Polyc- 
rates, 74, 75; an independent ally 
of Athens, 131; revolt of, 137; 
subdued, 137; its importance to 
Athens, 205; oligarchical conspir- 
acv at, 206; democracy re-estab- 
lished at, 209. 

Sam'o-thra'^e, 4. 

San-gala, 322. 

Sap'pho (saf'fo), lvric poetess, 66, 
368. 

Sar'dis, captured by Cyrus, 74; 
burned by the Greeks, 79; Xerxes 
winters at, 92 ; residence of Tissa- 



INDEX 



419 



phernes, 245; surrenders to Alex- 
ander, 306. 

Sa-ron'ic gulf, 145. 

Sat'yr-play, the, 374. 

Sat y-rus, head of the Eleven, 224. 

Satyrns, the actor, 290. 

Scar-phe'a, battle of, 359. 

S^er'^U-lse'das, 353. 

^il'lus, 385. 

S9'i-o'ne, 182. 

Scy'ros, reduced by Cimon, 123 ; 
confirmed to Athens by the 
peace of Antalcidas, 253. 

Scyth'i-a, invaded by Darius, 76; 
by Alexander, 319. 

S9y-thi'ni, the, 240. 

Se-leu'cus, receives Babylon, 336 ; 
at war with Antigonus, 339; de- 
feats Antigonus, 342 ; founds An- 
tioch, 343; marries the daughter 
of Demetrius, 343; conquers Ly- 
simachus, 345; succeeds to the 
greater part of the Macedonian 
empire, 345; assassinated, 345. 

Seli'nus, 189. 

Sel-la'si-a, battle of, 350. 

Se-lym bri-a, founded, 72 ; captured 
by the Athenians, 213. 

Senate, of Draco, 49 ; of Solon, 52, 
53; of Clisthenes, 60; of the 
Areopagus, see Areopagus; of 
Sparta, see Gerusia. 

Ses'tus, captured bv Xanthippus, 
113; by Cimon, 123. 

Si-$il'i-an expedition, the, 191 ; ter- 
mination of, 202. 

Sie/i-ly, Greek colonies in, 67. 

Sic/y-on (sisJi'i-o?i), under Phidon, 
34; under Clisthenes, 40, 41; 
becomes a dependency of Sparta, 
41; Athenian expedition against, 
130; united with the Achaean 
league, 348. 

Si'don, welcomes Alexander, 311. 

Si-o-e'um, 58, 63, 305. 

Si-le'nus, 229. 

Si-mon'i-des of Ceos, lyric poet, 370. 



Si-no'pe, Diogenes of, 300. 

Siphnos, 310. 

Sis'y-gam'bis, 310. 

Si-tho'ni-a, 93. 

Slaves, in the heroic age, 14; at 
Sparta, 27, 28. 

Social war, the, 286 ; ill effects of, 
287 ; second, 353. 

Soc'ra-te§ at Delium, 181 ; opposes 
the condemnation of the generals, 
220; sketch of his life, 229; his 
teaching and method, 230; wis- 
dom of, 230; unpopularity and 
indictment of, 230, 231 ; con- 
demned, 231 ; refuses to escape, 
232; death, 232; as a philoso- 
pher, 232, 392. 

Sog"di-a'na, invaded by Alexan- 
der, 319; fortress of, taken, 319. 

Solon, 50, 51 ; legislation of, 51- 
54 ; results of his legislation, 53 ; 
as a poet, 367. 

Soph'o-cle§, account of, 377 ; char- 
acter as a poet, 378. 

So"phron-is'cus, 229. 

So'ter, see Antiochus Soter and 
Ptolemy I. 

Spar'ta, rise of, 25 ; classes in, 27 ; 
constitution of, 28-30; women 
at, 32, 33; lands and money at, 
33; ruined by an earthquake, 
125 ; supremacy of, 241 ; league 
against, 248 ; congress at, 262 ; 
rapid fall of, 267 ; reforms in, 
350; taken by Antigonus Doson, 
350 ; taken by Philopcemen, 357. 

Spar'tans, the, education and train- 
ing of, 30-32 ; masters of Laconia, 

34 ; drive the Argives from Elis, 

35 ; make war upon the Messeni- 
ans, 35, 36; at war with Argos, 
36; subjugate the Messenians, 
37-39 ; supreme in Peloponnesus, 
39; champions of oligarchy, 43; 
defeat the Argives, 82; given 
supreme command in war against 
Xerxes, 94 ; at Thermopylae, 97- 



420 



IXDEX 



100; selfish conduct of, 102; 
honor Themistocles, 109 ; send 
troops against Mardonius, 111; 
at Plataea, 111, 112; lose their 
supremacy, 117; dismiss Cimon, 
126; assist the Dorians, 128, I 
129 ; defeat the Athenians at 
Tanagra, 129; invade Attica, j 
132; conclude a truce with the I 
Athenians, 132; declare war upon j 
Athens, 141 ; allies of, at the be- 
ginning of the Peloponnesian 
war, 164; invade Attica, 165, 
166; capture Plataea, 170; de- 
feated in the bay of Pylus, 17c ; 
troops captured at Sphacteria, 
179; sue for peace, 180; send 
Brasidas to Thrace, 181 ; victori- 
ous at Amphipolis, 183 ; conclude 
peace with Athens, 184; victori- 
ous at Mantinea, 188; send Gy- 
lippus to Syracuse, 195 ; occupy 
Decelea, 197; send a fleet to 
Chios, 204; defeated at Cynos- 
sema, 211; at Abydus, 211; at 
Cyzicus, 212; sue for peace, 212; 
secure the aid of Darius, 213 ; 
victorious at Notium, 216; de- 
feated at Arginusas, 218; capture 
the Athenian fleet at ^Egospot- 
ami, 221; take Athens, 222; 
establish the Thirty Tyrants at 
Athens, 223; assist Cyrus the 
younger, 235 ; oppress the Greek 
cities, 241 ; at Avar with Persia, 
242 ; send Agesilaus to Asia, 244 ; 
defeated by the Thebans at Ha- 
liartus, 248; recall Agesilaus, 
246 ; victorious at Corinth, 249 ; 
defeated at Cnidus, 249 ; victori- 
ous at Coronea, 250 ; loss of their 
maritime empire, 251 ; aided by 
Dionysius, 253, 269, 270 ; secure 
the peace of Antalcidas, 253; 
seize the Cadmca, 255; height 
of their power, 256; expelled 
from Thebes, 258;' at war with 



Athens and Thebes, 260, 261; 
invade Bceotia, 260 ; defeated at 
Naxos, 261; at Tegyra, 262; 
conclude peace with Athens, 262 ; 
defeated at Leuctra, 264; con- 
duct of, after Leuctra, 265 ; retire 
from Bceotia, 266 ; solicit the aid 
of the Athenians, 269 ; defeat the 
Argives and Arcadians, 270 ; de- 
feated at Mantinea, 275 ; exclud- 
ed from the Amphictyonic Coun- 
cil, 293 ; attempt to throw off the 
Macedonian yoke, 328 ; aid the 
Athenians against Antigonus 
Gonatas, 347 ; defeated at Sel- 
lasia,350 ; in alliance with Pome, 
354 ; defeated by the Achaeans, 
354 ; join the Achaean league, 
356; solicit aid from the Pomans, 
358. 

Speu-sip'pus, 393. 

Sphac-te'ri-a, occupied by the Spar- 
tans, 175 ; blockaded, 176 ; capt- 
ured, 179. 

Spor'a-deg, the, 4. 

Sta'di-um, the, 18. 

Sta-gi'rus, 181, 393. 

Sta-ti'ra, 310. 

Sten"y-cle'rus, plain of, 38. 

Sto'ic school of philosophy, 395. 

Stra-te'gi, Athenian, in time of 
Draco, 48 ; of Clisthenes, 60 ; in 
later times, 122, 123. 

Stra-te gus. in the Achaean league, 
348; in the ^Etolian league, 351. 

Stra"to-ni'9e, 343. 

Stry'mon, river, 76, 181, 285. 

Su'i-das, 382. 

Su'ni-um, 102, 210. 

Susa, Persian capital, 77; taken by 
Alexander, 316 ; treasures at, 
316 ; Alexander returns to, 324. 

Su-sa'ri-on, 374. 

Syb'a-ris, its luxury, 68, 69 ; de- 
stroyed, 68. 

Syb'a-rites, at Thurii. 134. 

Sy'ka, 195. 



IXDEX 



421 



Syn-iax'is, 259. 

Syr'a-cuse, founded, 67; supports 
Selinus, 189; Athenian expedi- 
tion against, 191 ; description of, 
193, 194; siege of, 195, 196; en- 
gagements in the Great Harbor 
of, 198, 200; victory of, over the 
Athenians, 202 ; sends aid to the 
Lacedaemonians, 253, 269, 270; 
under Dionysius Land II., 277- 
279 ; under Dion, 279 ; freed by 
Timoleon, 281. 

Svr'i-a, 334; Antiochus III. of, 
"356. 

Sys-sit'i-a, 32. 

Ta'ehos, king of Egypt, 276. 

Tae'na-rum, cape, 4, 119. 

Ta'gus, 266, 270. 

Tan'a-gra, battle of, 129. 

Tan'ta-lus, 8. 

Ta'o-chi, 240. 

Ta-ren'tum, founded, 69, 70. 

Tarsus, 235, 307. 

Taurus, Mount, 307. 

Taxi-la, 321. 

Tax'i-le:, 321. 

Ta-yg e-tus, Mount, 4, 30. 

" Tearless Battle,'' the, 270. 

Teg'e-a, captured by the Spartans, 
39; threatened by the Argives, 
188 ; Pausanias flees to, 248 ; oc- 
cupied by Epaminondas, 274. 

Teg'e-ans, at -war with Sparta, 267 ; 
seek to unite Arcadia, 267 ; join 
the Achaean league, 349. 

Te^'y-ra, battle of, 261. 

Tem'e-nus, 24, 283. 

Tem'pe, vale of, 2; the Greeks at, 
95. 

u Ten," the, oligarchical commis- 
sion, 227, 228. 

' ; Ten Thousand," expedition and 
retreat of the, 233-240. 

" Ten Thousand." the Arcadian, 
268. 

Ten'e-dos, 66, 82. 



Te'os, 369. 

Terence, 381. 

Tha'leg, Ionic philosopher, 389. 

Thap'sa-cus, 235, 314. 

Thap'sus, ba}' of, 195. 

Tha'sos, 4; revolt of, 124 ; subjuga- 
tion of, 124. 

The-ag'e-ne§, tyrant of Megara, 46. 

The' bans, defeated by the Athe- 
nians, 62 ; partisans of the Per- 
sians, 94; at Thermopylae, 97, 
100; attack Platrca, 141; raze 
Plataea, 171 ; assist Thrasybulus, 
226 ; expel Agesilaus from Aulis, 
244; at war with the Phocians, 
247 ; assisted by the "Athenians, 
248 : defeat Lvsander at Haliar- 



tus. 248 



in 



alliance with Cor- 



inth, Athens, and Argos against 
Sparta, 248; at Coronea, 250; 
compelled to accept the peace of 
Antalcidas, 254; forced into the 
Lacedaemonian alliance, 256; re- 
capture the Cadmea, 258 ; join 
the Athenian confederacy, 258; 
victorious at Tegyra, 262; destroy 
Plataea, 262 ; defeat the Spartans 
at Leuctra, 265 ; rise of their as- 
cendency, 265 ; invade and rav- 
age Laconia, 268, 274; restore the 
Mcssenians, 268; assist the Thcs- 
salians, 270-272; invade Mace- 
donia, 270 ; defeat Alexander of 
Pherae, 272; conclude peace with 
Corinth and Phlius, 273; defeat 
the Spartans and allies at Man ti- 
nea, 275; at war with the Pho- 
cians, 287 ; unite with the Athe- 
nians against Philip, 296; treat- 
ment of, by Philip, 297 ; rise 
against the Macedonians, 302. 
Thebes, 2; becomes head of the 
Boeotian league, 129; liberated 
from the Spartans, 258; becomes 
supreme in Greece, 265; de- 
stroyed by Alexander, 302; re- 
stored by Cassander, 338. 



422 



INDEX 



The-misto-cies, proposes a fleet, 90; 
his character, 90; at the Greek 
congress, 95; at Tempe, 95; his 
advice to fight at Salamis, 105, 
106; his stratagem to bring on 
an engagement, 10G; the hero 
of Salamis, 109; honored by the 
Spartans, 109; deceives the Spar- 
tans, 115, 116; his policy, 116; 
ostracized, 120; flight of, 120, 
121; reception in Persia, 121, 122; 
death, 122; question of his guilt 
or innocence, 122. 

The-oc'ri-tus, 366. 

The-og'nis, elegiac poet, 367. 

The-og'o-ni), the, of Hesiod, 365. 

The' o-phras tus, philosopher, 340. 

The'ra,70, 165. 

The-ram'e-neg, one of the "Four 
Hundred," 210; accuses the gen- 
erals, 219 ; death of, 224. 

Ther'ma, 93. 

Ther'mon, 351. 

Ther-mop 'y-lae, pass of, 17, 93, ^Q\ 
first battle at, 98-101; guarded 
by the Athenians, 288; surren- 
dered to Philip, 293; An ti pater 
defeated near, 331 ; defended 
against the Celts, 3-46; Antiochus 
defeated at, 356. 

The'ron, of Agrigentum, 371. 

i; The-se'um," the, 160. 

Theseus, the hero of Attica, 8-10, 
44; temple of, 160. 

Thes"?)w-j)ho'ri-a, 255. 

Tlies-moth'e-tce, 44. 

Thes'pi-a^, true to the Greek cause, 
94; sends troops to Thermopylae, 
97. 

Thespians, conduct of, at Thermop- 
ylae, 100. 

Thes'pls, 373. 

Thes-sa'li-ans, allied with Athens, 
128, 164; assisted by the The- 
bans against Alexander of Phera?, 
270; support Epaminondas at 
Man tinea, 274; support Thebes 



in the Sacred War, 288 ; desert 
Antipater, 330. 

Thes"sa-lo-ni'ca, 93. 

Thes'sa-ly, 2 ; Xerxes marches 
through, 93; Athenian expedi- 
tion to, 130; Jason, Tagus of, 
266; invaded by the Thebans, 
270-272 ; Philip becomes master 
of, 288. 

The tes, 52. 

The'tfs, 12. 

Thi bron, Lacedaemonian command- 
er, 240, 242. 

Thirty Tyrants at Athens, 223 ; de- 
feated'by Thrasybulus, 226, 227; 
deposed, 227. 

Thirty Years' Truce, 132. 

Thrace, colonies in, 71, 72; invaded 
by Darius, 76; subjugated by 
Philip, 294; under Lysimachus, 
334; under Seleucus, 345; in- 
vaded by the Celts, 346. 

Thra'c/ians, Philip's expeditions 
against, 288, 293, 294. 

Thras"y-bu lus, a leader of the de- 
mocracy at Samos, 209 ; proposes 
the recall of Alcibiades, 209 ; 
takes Phyle, 226 ; seizes Piraius, 
226; defeats the Thirty, 227. 

Thras'yTus, a leader of the democ- 
racy at Samos, 209 ; defeats the 
Peloponnesians at Cvnossema, 
211. 

Thri-a'si-an plain, 215. 

Thu-crd i-des, in Thrace, 181 ; ban- 
ished, 182 ; account of, 383 ; his 
history, 383, 384. 

Thu'ri-i, founded, 134; Alcibiades 
at, 192 ; Herodotus at, 133, 382. 

Thyr'e-a, battle of, 36. 

Tigris, river, 82,238,314. 

Ti-moc'ra-tes, 247. 

Ti-mo'le-on. character of, 280; his 
expedition to Sicily, 280; defeats 
the Carthaginians. 281; becomes 
a Syracusan citizen, 281. 

Ti-moph'a-ncs, 280. 



INDEX 



423 



Ti -mo' the- us, Athenian commander, 
250,201. 

Tir i-ba'zus, 252, 253. 

Ti-sam'e-nus, 24. 

Tis'sa-pher'nes, allied with Sparta, 
205; receives Alcibiades, 205; 
his policy, 206; arrests Alcibia- 
des, 212; superseded by Cyrus, 
214; concludes a truce with the 
Ten Thousand, 238;. seizes the 
generals of the Ten Thousand, 
238; attacks the Ionian cities, 
242; at war with the Spartans, 
243-245 ; beheaded, 245. 

Ti-thraus'te?, Persian satrap, 245, 
24G. 

Tol'mi-des, Athenian general, 131. 

Tor 'o-na ic gulf, 255. 

To-ro'ne, 182. 

Tragedy, Greek, origin of, 372, 373; 
differences between ancient and 
modern, 374. 

Tral'les, surrenders to Alexander, 
300. 

Trap'e-zus, 240. 

Tras "i-me'nus, battle of, 353. 

Treb i-zond, 240. 

Tri-bal'li-ans, defeated by Alexan- 
der, 301. 

Tri"pa-ra-di'sus, treaty of, 336. 

Tro'ad, the, 58. 

Trce'zen, Athenians remove to, 103 ; 
allied with Athens, 131; joins 
the Achaean league, 349. 

Trojan expedition, 11, 12. 

Troy, captured, 12. 

Ty eha, 194. 

Tym pa-na, 153. 

Tyrant, meaning of the term, 42. 

Tyre, 311; besieged and captured 
by Alexander, 312. 

Tyr-rhe'ni an sea, 00. 



Tyr-tre'us, elegiac poet, encourages 
the Spartans, 37 ; works of, 366. 

Ux'i-ans, the, 317. 

Ve'li-a, see Eica. 

Xan-thip'pc, wife of Socrates, 229. 

Xan-thip'pus, father of Pericles, ac- 
cuses Miltiades, 89; recovers the 
Thracian Chersonesus, 1 13. 

Xan'thus, river, 306. 

Xe-noph'a-nes, Eleatic philosopher, 
390. 

Xen'o-phon, accompanies Cyrus, 
235; chosen general of the Ten 
Thousand, 239; joins Agesilaus, 
249; account of, 384, 385; his 
works, 385, 386. 

Xerxes, accession of, 91 ; character 
of, 91; subdues Egypt, 91; 
prepares an expedition against 
Greece, 92; marches towards 
Greece, 92, 93; number of his 
host, 93 ; at Thermopylae, 97-100; 
takes Athens, 104; at Salamis, 
107 ; his alarm and retreat, 108. 

Xu'thus, 6. 

Za-e;yn'thi-ans allied with Ath- 
ens, 164. 

Za-ern thos, 4. 

Za-leu cus, laws of, 69. 

Zan'cle, 69. 

Zap'a-tas, river, 238. 

Ze'a, harbor of, 147. 

Ze'no, Eleatic philosopher, 127. 

Zeno, Stoic philosopher, 395. 

Zeu-rjiice, 52; become eligible to 
the archonship, 128. 

Zeus, 8, 313 ; temple of, at Athens, 
145. 



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